Record entry for Hirepool Construction Excellence Awards

31 July 2014

Record entry for Hirepool Construction Excellence Awards

Projects ranging from a skate park and a farm bridge to multi-million dollar power station and expressway projects are among finalists in the 2014 Hirepool Construction Excellence Awards.

This year, for the first time, the awards are being run by both the New Zealand Contractors’ Federation (NZCF) and Roading New Zealand.

NZCF executive officer Malcolm Abernethy said this had led to the highest ever number of entries.

“All were of a very high calibre and judges had a tough selection task in narrowing entries down to the 24 that have gone forward to the finals,” said Mr Abernethy.

“These projects represent the highest standards of civil construction and maintenance and management of assets by New Zealand companies.”

Chris Olsen, chief executive of Roading New Zealand, said the awards celebrate excellence by contractors in the construction or management of infrastructure.

“The last 10 to 15 years has seen a huge increase in the skills and capacity of the New Zealand contracting industry,” he said. “It’s great that we can acknowledge those at the leading edge of this increase.”

The joint awards have six categories recognising excellence in civil construction projects, asset management and maintenance carried out by New Zealand companies at home or abroad. They cover projects with budgets ranging from less than $0.5m to greater than $30m.

Finalists in category one - for projects with a value of less than $0.5m are: Construction Contracts for a Wellington stormwater upgrade; Worthington Contractors for installation of a temporary lift station in Christchurch; EPL Construction for a water supply and waste water upgrade to the Pinnacles Hut; Bridge it NZ for a project to replace a 1950s farm swing bridge over the Motu river.

Finalists in category two – $0.5m to $5m – are: Higgins Contractors for building new floating concrete pontoon jetties and increasing the number of berths at Picton Marina; E Carson & Sons for a new sewer pump station at Wellington’s Westpac Stadium; McConnell Dowell Constructors for repair works on the Arapuni Power Station diversion gate and tunnel; Downer New Zealand for repairing the Heathcote/Opawa Bridge; Hunter Civil for the redevelopment of the Washington Reserve Skate Park, both in Christchurch.

Finalists in category three – $5m-$30m – are: McConnell Dowell Constructors for the Lower Hatea River Crossing at Whangarei; HEB Construction for the Papakura Interchange Upgrade; Goodman Contractors for the Boulcott Stopbank in Lower Hutt; Brian Perry Civil for construction of access roads, environmental controls and pylon foundations for the new Wairakei to Whakamaru ‘C’ Transmission Line.

Finalists in category four – greater than $30m – are: Downer New Zealand for the Auckland Transport’s train maintenance depot at Wiri and McConnell Dowell Constructors for the Te Mihi Geothermal Power Station at Taupo; Fulton Hogan has three finalist projects in the category - for the relining of the Tekapo Canal, the Te Rapa section of the Waikato Expressway and for Christchurch Southern Motorway Stage 1.

Road Science, NZ Transport Agency, Transfield Services and Fulton Hogan are finalists in the excellence and management of assets category. Downer New Zealand and Fulton Hogan are the finalists in the excellence in routine maintenance section.

Winners will be announced at the Hirepool Construction Excellence awards dinner on 8 August. The event is part of the tripartite New Zealand Contractors’ Federation, Association of Consulting Engineers and Roading New Zealand Conference to be held in Rotorua from 6–9 August.

ENDS

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