Tailored for industry

SNC-LAVALIN APPOINTS AUSTRALIA CEO SNC-Lavalin – a fully integrated professional services and project management company with offices around the world – has appointed Tom Hasker to the newly created role of Australia CEO, responsible for driving long-term growth as part of a wider strategy to broaden the company’s footprint in Asia Pacific. Hasker has over 24 years’ consultancy experience spanning master planning, design, project and programme management and advisory services. He re-joins SNC-Lavalin from UAE-based I.T. firm Keross LLC where he was CEO. Prior to that, Hasker was a Managing Director in SNC-Lavalin’s Asia Pacific region and has also held a number of senior management roles in the Middle East. Hasker starts his new role with immediate effect based in Brisbane.

DOWNER APPOINTS TASMANIA GENERAL MANAGER Marcus Stephens has been appointed as Downer’s General Manager for Tasmania, as part of Downer’s refocused and strengthened commitment to the state. Stephens has more than 15 years’ experience in road network maintenance, leading teams to deliver exceptional and innovative outcomes on complex projects. Stephens brings to the role a wealth of experience in commercial and contract management and major infrastructure projects, including intelligent transport systems. He oversees Downer’s road, reserve management and waste management operations in Tasmania, as well as VEC Civil Engineering, a wholly-owned Downer company.

COATES’ NEW PROJECT MANAGER FOR INDUSTRIAL SOLUTIONS Robbie Watson has joined Coates as Project Manager for Industrial Solutions in August 2021. With over 10 years’ experience in Learning and Development (L&D) and operations, Watson has worked for the likes of Amazon and THE ICONIC in roles spanning customer fulfilment, warehouse automation and the supply chain. Watson will be leading Coates’ Industrial Solutions Project, tasked with driving awareness of the division’s comprehensive suite of solutions and bringing new products to market. “Coates’ trajectory looks bright with some exciting projects underway driving growth, diversification and scale. I’m thrilled to be on board at this time and I am looking forward to making delivering something really special for the Industrial Solutions team,” Watson said.

FRASERS PROPERTY INDUSTRIAL APPOINTS EXECUTIVE GENERAL MANAGER, AUSTRALIA Frasers Property Industrial has announced the appointment of Ian Barter to Executive General Manager, Australia. Effective from August, the appointment comes as the company continues to grow its multi-national platform, with the Australian business demonstrating strong performance over the past financial year. As Executive General Manager, Barter will be responsible for leading all business functions across Frasers Property Industrial’s Australian platform. Barter was previously General Manager, Northern Region at Frasers Property Industrial. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing all development and asset management activities across the company’s portfolio in New South Wales and Queensland. Prior to this, he served as General Manager for New South Wales and General Manager, Business Development.

ROADS & INFRASTRUCTURE PROVIDES AN UPDATE ON SOME OF THE CONTRACTS AND TENDERS RECENTLY AWARDED OR PUT TO MARKET ACROSS THE AUSTRALIAN INFRASTRUCTURE SECTOR.

The Bielby Hull Brady Joint Venture, the BMD Georgiou Joint Venture, the Fulton Hogan BESIX Watpac Joint Venture and John Holland have all been shortlisted for Brisbane’s Centenary Bridge upgrade project at Jindalee. Recognised as the first stage of the overall Centenary Motorway upgrade, the project will see a new three-lane northbound bridge constructed and the existing bridge refurbished to become a three-lane southbound bridge. The shortlisted proponents will be invited to submit a tender for the works. This is the first Transport and Main Roads project to have Best Practise Industry Conditions included in the tendering documents.

The Fulton Hogan and Egis joint venture (FHE) has been awarded the contract to provide operation and maintenance services for the Sydney’s WestConnex Stage three. With contracts in place for operation and maintenance of Stages one and two of the WestConnex, the joint venture will now service all sections of Australia’s largest road infrastructure project. WestConnex Stage three comprises of the M4-M5 Link and the Rozelle Interchange. The M4-M5 Link will be 7.5-kilometre tunnels linking the M4 at Haberfield with the M8 at St Peters. When complete in 2023, WestConnex will provide motorists with a continuous, 33-kilometre traffic-light free motorway network, with connections for future projects linking the north shore and northern beaches, Sydney Airport and the southern suburbs.

The Newell Highway upgrade project in New South Wales has made a major leap forward, with Georgiou Group chosen to carry out the $187.2-million Parkes Bypass construction following a competitive tender process. The bypass is part of the $500 million Newell Highway upgrade program to support the interstate freight industry. The upgrade would involve relocating the highway about two kilometres west, between Maguire Road to the north and Barkers Road to the south – a total length of 10.5 kilometres. The project is being jointly funded, with the Federal Government investing $149.7 million and the New South Wales Government contributing $37.4 million. The Parkes Bypass would remove up to 1200 trucks per day from local streets and improve safety for motorists. Following the contract award, the bypass construction is scheduled to start later this year.

The Victorian Government has awarded a $631 million contract to Laing O’Rourke, Jacobs and Metro Trains Melbourne to remove two dangerous levels crossings in Melbourne’s east, in partnership with the Level Crossing Removal Project. The contract will see the removal of level crossings at Union Road in Surrey Hills and Mont Albert Road in Mont Albert, replacing them with a rail trench and consolidating Surrey Hills Station and Mont Albert Station into a single premium station. The premium station and precinct will include a widened pedestrian bridge that will form a small plaza connecting Beresford Street and the Hamilton Street shopping village. This will create more open space and a home for the existing Mont Albert station building, which will be retained for community use close to its current location. The project will also include the construction of a new entrance at Montrose Street, providing better local access to the station and new open space with landscaping, as well as improved ramps with increased accessibility and fewer stairs. The new premium station will open in 2023, two years ahead of schedule.

The Western Australian Government has selected Midland Junction Alliance, a consortium comprising of McConnell Dowell Constructors, Georgiou Group, Arcadis Australia and BG&E, as the preferred tenderer to deliver the design and construction of Perth’s new Midland station project. The project will see the existing 53-yearold station decommissioned and demolished, replacing it with a new threeplatform station to the east of its existing location. The new station will be located between Helena and Cale streets and will incorporate three platforms catering for up to six-cars, a publicly accessible pedestrian overpass connecting both sides of the railway, a bus interchange and cycling facilities. The project is jointly funded by the Australian and Western Australian governments, with each committing to half of the $165 million estimated project cost. The contract is expected to be awarded to the Midland Junction Alliance later this year, with early works to start this year and an expected completion date of late 2022 or mid-2023.