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The Well-Connected consortium has won the massive Waterview Connection tunnel and motorway contract - a project NZTA acknowledges today won’t be easy.
Well-Connected includes New Zealand and international companies: Fletcher Construction, McConnell Dowell Constructors, Obayashi Corporation, PB New Zealand, Beca Infrastructure and Tonkin & Taylor. The consortium includes five sub-alliance partners and contractors: SICE, Wilson Tunnelling, Downer EDI Works, Boffa Miskell and Warren and Mahoney. Well-Connected will now enter into an alliance with the NZTA to deliver the project.
The project, to be finished by 2016, will complete one of the key links in the Western Ring Route around Auckland by connecting the Southwestern Motorway (SH20) at Mt Roskill to the Northwestern Motorway (SH16), providing a 48 kilometre motorway alternative to ease pressure on SH1 and the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
“Today’s announcement marks a significant milestone towards a transport solution that will deliver many benefits for Aucklanders and for all of New Zealand,” says the NZTA’s Chief Executive, Geoff Dangerfield.
Together with the NZTA, Well-Connected will be responsible for constructing nearly 5kms of new motorway that includes tunnels and interchanges that will connect the Southwestern and Northwestern Motorways.
More than half of the new motorway will be underground – traffic will drive through two three-lane tunnels – which will be a first for New Zealand.
“This project will require underground work at an unprecedented scale, in a country where road tunnels are relatively rare. It will need to be constructed through difficult terrain that consists of soft sedimentary rock and basalt lava flows,” says Mr Dangerfield.
“It won’t be easy, but by constructing the project in an alliance between the NZTA and the private sector, we’re ensuring that this project will be delivered as quickly as possible and with the very best value for money.”
Mr Dangerfield says today’s announcement marks a significant milestone in a rigorous procurement process that started last year.
Last November, the NZTA shortlisted three registered consortia down to two. The other shortlisted consortium which was unsuccessful today was Tuhono. The Tuhono consortium included Leighton Contractors, Fulton Hogan, John Holland, Aecom and Sinclair Knight Merz. Tuhono also included United Group and Keller New Zealand as proposed sub alliance partners. Mr Dangerfield thanked Tuhono for its hard work and involvement in the process and says that both of the final tender submissions received by the NZTA were innovative, demonstrated good value for money and proved that either of these competitors were up to the challenge of delivering a complex and important project of this size.
“These parties have been engaged in a competitive and rigorous tender process that has attracted a high level of interest both nationally and internationally. We have been incredibly impressed with what they have delivered, and we are pleased with the outcome of this competitive process. We are on track to deliver this very large project on time and on budget at $1.4 billion. That’s great news for Auckland and great news for New Zealand.”
Mr Dangerfield says the NZTA has run the competitive alliance tender process in parallel with its pursuit of statutory approvals for the Waterview Connection Project from the Board of Inquiry. The Agency received the final nod to go ahead in July.
“Running the two processes in parallel has helped us save up to a year in construction time and ensure we get the best market prices.
“Now, we gear up towards the start of construction. We’re nailing down the final design scheme that will incorporate all of the Board’s additions and take into account the community’s views and concerns and excitingly, we’re looking forward to getting that first spade in the ground before the end of the year.” Mr Dangerfield adds.
“And it doesn’t stop here for the community. They will continue to have a very active role as the project develops. We’ll be establishing community liaison groups that will ensure the community will have a voice throughout the project’s lifecycle and we’ll make sure they’ll be in place well before construction commences.”
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… And the economic modelling for this massive project all hinges on petrol being less than $2.75 a litre by 2025.
Well-Connected - how very appropriate. Too whom, one may well ask!
That’s great news. A Fletchers is a Kiwi company with a history of getting jobs done on time - New Lynn rail trench, Mangere bridge duplication, Victoria Park tunnel and Maioro Street interchange - and for using local subcontractors
@Bryan,
There were only 2 groups bidding for the project,
One headed by Leighton from Australia,
the other by Fletchers,
Did you really expect such a large contract to go to a group led by an Ozzy company with an election in 3 months… ..
Three bids - the third consortium was eliminated on November 16 last year. It was headed by Baulderstone Pty and comprised Bouygues Travaux Publics SA, Hawkins Construction, HEB Construction, Opus International Consultants, and URS New Zealand.
The problem now for any other contractor / consortium in New Zealand bidding for a large NZTA contract is that only Fletchers have any track record, so every body else’s tenders get marked down. Something of a vicious circle which doesnt encourage real competítion
NZTA says this is going to be a difficult assignment. What do they mean? They got all the money in the world to throw at this unlike a certain CBD rail tunnel.
BTW I have added C after my first name after another Simon also posted in another thread.
“old” Simon
Leytons has a track record. It did the SH20 link through Manukau City along with Downer EDI, which is now in the successful consortium, and is doing the Newmarket Viaduct along with Fulton Hogan. I believe it also did the Puhoi motorway extension through the Johnson Hill tunnels. Fulton Hogan is also doing the Lincoln Road interchange upgrade and with HEB was involved in the SH16 extension from Westgate to Greenhithe, so to say the other consortia have no track record is eronius.
Fletchers, Fulton Hogan and Leightons have all secured themselves as major contractors capable of such work. Higgins, Hawkins, Downer EDI, HEB and McConnell Dowel are major partner options for projects of this size.
Fletcher would have the best track record in regards to quality and speed, however Fulton Hogan are not far behind, their standout projects would be the Northern Gateway and Newmarket Viaduct.
Good news that the bid came in a $1.4 Billion which as far as I understand is $400 million cheap than expected.
Fingers crossed NZTA gets moving on other contracts with the surplus money
in related news I’ve heard that the Vic Park tunnel is a real disaster, with water pissing out of everywhere, causing heaps of troubles.
All this dirty water is being pumped straight into the harbour.
Luke
I would suggest this water will be getting treated before being pumped into the harbour.
“They got all the money in the world to throw at this unlike a certain CBD rail tunnel.”
I suspect that is rather unfair to the people working on this particular project. While the state highway funding is much more lavish than trains funding, that doesn’t mean that the money on a specific project is by any means excessive. Oh, it can be, but there’s no particular knowledge or indication that this one is overpriced in any way. So let’s not assume a rort just because we can think of better ways to spend 1.4 billion.
@Luke - proof or no truth. Rumours are easy.