McConnell Dowell's building arm, Built Environs received industry recognition at the Master Builders Building Excellence 2017 Awards. The building and construction industry's 'night of nights' was held on Friday night at the Adelaide Convention Centre to recognise and award South Australia's best building projects and professionals of the past 12 months. The Modbury Hospital Redevelopment Project won the Excellence in a Commercial Fit-out up to $5m.

The McConnell Dowell and Martinus Rail Joint Venture (MMJV) is poised to start work on one of the largest freight upgrade projects in Australia – the  $440 million Murray Basin Rail Project V/Line is overseeing the Murray Basin Rail Project, which involves the upgrade and conversion of over 1,000 kilometers of track to standard gauge to provide better rail freight services and improved freight access to major ports. The project is jointly funded by the Federal and Victorian governments.

The Waterview Connection Project has once again been recognised for excellence with another industry award win. Delivered by the Well-Connected Alliance (of which McConnell Dowell is a major alliance partner), for the NZ Transport Agency, the project won the $100million+ category at the Civil Contractors New Zealand Hirepool Construction Excellence Awards on Friday night.

The Cook Islands Government has awarded McConnell Dowell the NZ$30M+ Te Mato Vai project on the island of Rarotonga in the Cook Islands. This project is a multi-staged upgrade of the water supply network on Rarotonga, funded by the governments of New Zealand, China and the Cook Islands.

The final piece at the apex of Christchurch’s architecturally designed ‘gateway arches’ was put in place yesterday morning with the help of a 180 tonne crane. The top piece (or arch cap) weighs in at 13.5 tonnes and connects the gateway arches, which now stand 27 metres above Memorial Avenue.

McConnell Dowell Engineering Manager – Australia, Vito Trantino was today named one of Engineers Australia’s ‘Most Innovative Engineers’ for 2017. Vito heads up our team of design managers, who oversee our engineering consultants during the bidding and delivery phases of our D&C projects. He also heads up our temporary works team who develop innovative, customised engineering solutions that help streamline our construction delivery.

The Waterview Connection team has celebrated a win at the Civil Contractors NZ Auckland branch awards, voted the best project in the Over $25m Turnover category.

McConnell Dowell continues its partnership with Port of Melbourne after securing a contract to rehabilitate Swanson Dock East Berth 1. The project award comes after an intense and productive three month collaboration between the two organisations, focused on developing the best design and delivery solution. The project will be a complex logistics challenge with the requirement to maintain full operations for the terminal operator.

McConnell Dowell is pleased to announce that Stephen Rogers has been appointed as Managing Director, South East Asia. Stephen is an experienced International executive, with strong knowledge of the South East Asia Region, and over 20 years EPC experience in the Oil and Gas sector. Stephen comes to McConnell Dowell from Chicago Bridge & Iron (CB&I), where he was most recently Vice President Asia Pacific & Australia, based in Singapore, leading a regional management team operating across China, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, India and Australia.  

McConnell Dowell has been awarded a Construction Contract by Jemena for the Northern Gas Pipeline (NGP) Project. The NGP is a 622km buried gas pipeline between Tennant Creek and Mount Isa. Upon completion, the NGP will, for the first time, connect Northern Territory gas fields with the east-coast gas market. McConnell Dowell’s scope of work involves the engineering, construction and commissioning of a 481km section of the pipeline, commencing in the Northern Territory.

McConnell Dowell has taken out Australia’s pre-eminent engineering construction award for its pivotal contribution to the Port of Melbourne’s $1.6 billion Webb Dock Port Capacity Upgrade Project. Announced in Sydney last night, the 2017 Australian Construction Achievement Award recognised McConnell Dowell’s $400 million Maritime Works Package. CEO of McConnell Dowell, Scott Cummins, said the project showcased McConnell Dowell’s expertise in marine environments and the team’s ability to design creative customer-focussed solutions to challenging logistical and engineering challenges.

New Zealand rail operator KiwiRail has awarded McConnell Dowell a contract to upgrade five main line level crossings in Canterbury.

An Alliance of McConnell Dowell, Arup and Mott MacDonald has been awarded a multi-million dollar contract to remove the level crossing on Kororoit Creek Road in Williamstown North and duplicate part of the Altona Loop as part of the Western Program Alliance.

McConnell Dowell has appointed Fraser Wyllie to lead their New Zealand and Pacific Islands operations and build on the strong foundations laid by his predecessor Roger McRae.   Fraser has more than 30 years’ experience, most recently as Executive General Manager Projects at Downer, and a strong track record of overseeing both quality project execution and sustained commercial growth. Fraser has a Bachelor of Civil Engineering from the University of Auckland and a Master of Business Administration from Massey University.    

The NZ Transport Agency has awarded McConnell Dowell the Construction Contract to make a number of upgrades to the Lyttelton Tunnel in Christchurch. The contract involves installing a new deluge fire suppression system including construction of a new water reservoir on land above the tunnel, upgrading existing supply pipes and tunnel ventilation, some earthquake strengthening of portal buildings, major upgrades to the tunnels communications and new public address and CCTV systems.

McConnell Dowell Operations Manager Joe Edwards has been elected a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers New Zealand, in recognition of the significant contribution he has made to the engineering profession.

McConnell Dowell Australia has strengthened its local leadership team with two key appointments. Sasho Anastasieski has been appointed to the role of Operations Manager effective April 3. Sasho brings in excess of 25 years construction experience across a diverse range of projects and locations. He has held senior management roles with Fulton Hogan; John Holland and Laing O’Rourke, and was most recently Business Manager, Construction for Burton Construction. Sasho will be based in Sydney and will be responsible for overseeing the delivery of projects across Australia where his skills and experience can deliver the greatest value to our customers.

The Barangaroo Ferry Hub Project in Sydney has now reopened after closure due to a fatal accident that occurred on March 1, 2017. We again extend our sympathies to the family from all at McConnell Dowell and we continue to liaise with them and offer support in this difficult time. The program for reopening of the site was developed in consultation with our client Transport for NSW (TfNSW), staff and subcontractors. Over this period, staff and contractors have continued to be offered support and counselling and this is ongoing. McConnell Dowell, our staff and contractors are cooperating fully with investigations.…

A new stormwater outfall to be constructed at Army Bay near Whangaparaoa north of Auckland will be a construction first for New Zealand. McConnell Dowell will be installing the 2km onshore section of the 3km outfall pipe using Direct Pipe, a construction methodology never before used in the country.