Infrastructure sector growth and value Maxibor’s national business development manager David Turner provides insights into how horizontal directional drilling (HDD) design and delivery providers can help achieve growth and add value to the infrastructure sector through the next five years and beyond.
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he Australian infrastructure sector is going through a significant growth and change phase as the world emerges post-Covid and refocuses on economic and environmental development. The HDD sector is well positioned to play a significant role in designing and delivering infrastructure projects that can be part of the economic recovery and provide climate change mitigation solutions. David Turner has spent several decades working in the trenchless industry. In his business development and HDD operational roles at Maxibor, Turner is very familiar with most of the major infrastructure projects requiring HDD that have been completed in recent years; those currently in progress; and those that will be designed and delivered across Australia over the next five years. Turner predicts exciting times ahead for the HDD sector from a growth and value perspective. He says, “Companies like Maxibor, which have a widely-recognised reputation for
the successful design and delivery of all sized HDD projects, have a wealth of knowledge that can be used at all project phases to add value and help optimise outcomes for all stakeholders.” Over the next five years, governments and private sector infrastructure asset owners are set to make unprecedented investment in infrastructure projects. Free from Covid constraints and backed by economic support from Federal and state governments, it is important that the projects are designed and delivered in a manner that takes full advantage of the installation benefits that HDD can provide. At a project’s concept level, it is important that HDD expertise is part of the early discussions, as HDD involvement at this stage will bring greater understanding of the process and its benefits, plus innovative opportunities for the installation of the infrastructure. “Providers like Maxibor are already delivering larger diameter and long bores in excess of 2 km,” says Turner. “It is exciting that early
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82 NO-DIG DOWN UNDER 2022 connection with our HDD design expertise is increasingly sought out by asset owners, project consultants and design engineering consultancies to provide early input into projects to help identify and better inform early designs and project decisions”. Once a project moves to the expression of interest (EOI) stage where bidders need to progress design and construction methodology to a more detailed level, having the HDD design and delivery experience in the bid team can be pivotal to the success of the bid. One recent example is the Sydney Water Refresh Vaucluse to Diamond Bay project. Comdain worked closely with Maxibor and WSP to present Comdain’s winning bid for the design and delivery of this project, which included a 1.85 km pipeline. The cooperative approach of the bid team and the collaborative NEC4 procurement approach by Sydney Water is creating a project delivery framework which will optimise outcomes for all Maxibor’s Gallagher 660e maxi-rig, informally known as The Hulk, is the only electric maxi-rig in the HDD industry in Australia.
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