A joint venture between McConnell Dowell and Built Environs has received a prestigious Civil Contractors Federation (CCF) South Australian Earth Award for its work on the Techport Australia Common User Facility (CUF) on the Port River at Osborne, South Australia.

The McConnell Dowell Built Environs joint venture (MBDE JV) completed construction of the approximate $260 million CUF in December 2009 – on budget and on schedule.

The completed facility supports shipbuilding and maintenance company ASC in delivering the Royal Australian Navy’s next generation $8 billion Air Warfare Destroyers (AWD), with the capability to support other major shipbuilding and repair opportunities.

The project was one of the first Early Contract Involvement (ECI) contracts in South Australia and was rolled out in two stages.

In the first stage, MDBE worked in collaboration with design and technology partners and Defence SA to develop the final design and risk adjusted price.

For the second stage, the project reverted to a lump sum Design and Construct contract, which was executed to the principles of relationship contracting.

Here, MDBE constructed a 210 m long fit out wharf, a 300 m long runway, dry berth and transfer system, and a 160 m long and 20 m deep shiplift pocket.

During the course of construction, over 450,000 m3 of material was dredged from the river bed under the terms of a strict Environmental Protection Agency licence.

MDBE also supervised the installation and commissioning of the 9,300 t capacity Roll-Royce shiplift, the technological centrepiece of the facility.

The project is now a contender for the national CCF Earth Awards, which will be held in Parliament House in Canberra on 23 October.

Winning this award is an excellent result for McConnell Dowell and Built Environs.

More Built Environs news >