Australia’s construction scene is showing a lot of activity in 2018. In Melbourne, the rise of commercial construction has reported over 165 tower cranes in use, Brisbane has major projects that are set to add $12 million to the economy and skilled construction workers employed has reached a record of 1.168 million!
As experts in excavator bucket technology, that have proven to help dig better by increasing productivity and efficiency by an average of 30%, saving contractors between $20,000 and $40,000 per year on each machine, we’re excited to round-up some of the high priority construction and development projects in Australia this year. Read our summary of the 10 construction projects in Australia.
Australia’s next upscaled icon will be the good ol’ Milo tin in response to high demand put on Nestlé and the powers that be for the country’s next ‘big thing’ to be everyone’s favourite chocolate drink. The ‘Big Milo Tin’ will be launched in 2019 to coincide with the 85th birthday of Milo. The location is most likely to be in and around Smithtown – the home of Milo. Add that to your list of roadtrip wonders to watch out for!
APA Group appointed Nacap Australia as the construction contractor for the 198 km Yamarna Gas Pipeline (YGP). Construction is expected to be complete by the June 2018 Quarter. APA will design, build, own and operate the pipeline and the 45 MW gas-fired power station, at a total construction cost of around $180 million.
Construction on stage one of the University of Tasmania’s transformation project at Inveresk could begin before the end of 2018 and expects to complete in 2021. The total funding is $260 million and the project will have a massive $1.1 billion economic direct and indirect output through the construction phase.
Construction of the mammoth Stockyard Hill Wind Farm in the Pyrenees Shire is expected to begin as early as the first half of 2018 after developers successfully secured the finance for the project late last year. The National Australia Bank led a nine-member banking syndicate to finance the project which is worth almost $700 million. The syndicate is made up of banks from Australia, Japan, China and Europe.
Western NSW will be home to some of Australia’s biggest renewable energy farms in the coming years, with new projects emerging all the time. A total of nine wind power projects will generate more than 2750 megawatts of electricity that will flow into the grid, while 23 solar projects will generate a further 2033MW.
Works on the new Oaklands Crossing rail project are expected to begin by the middle of the year after a construction consortium was awarded the $175 million contract. This project will support approximately 160 jobs during major construction, which is expected to start in mid-2018 and complete by the end of 2019.
Bundaberg’s Booming 2018 (QLD)
Bundaberg’s future is looking bright in 2018 with already hundreds of millions of dollars worth of development approved.
- A solar farm project cost $130-$150 million and cover about 175 hectares will be built.
- The Tobruk is a $10-million project in partnership with Bundaberg and Fraser Coast regional councils to create an artificial reef and world-class dive site.
- A $35 million Pacific Tugs development project
- The council has awarded the $1.589 million design contract to Hassell Ltd and construction on the $16 million Bundaberg CBD upgrade project starting in 2018.
- Burnett Heads main street upgrading project costs nearly $11 million will transform the seaside village’s ageing CBD into a vibrant, modern tourism hot spot.
- STAGE 2 of the Multiplex will be the first project completed in 2018.
- A $18 million biorefinery project by utilitas will begin in 2018.
- The largest infrastructure project – Rubyanna Wastewater Treatment Plant cost $71 million by by Bundaberg Regional Council will become operational this year.
- A marathon track, a turtle trail, an upgraded intersection and an environmentally friendly design are all part of a $70 million Headlands development taking shape.
- The second Stage 2 of the IWC, a $15 million healthy facility project should open later this year.
Multi-million Dollar Solar Farm Construction to Begin (QLD)
Australian developer of utility scale solar projects, Esco Pacific, has also announced the construction phase of its Susan River site near Maryborough is about to get underway. Construction, operations and maintenance will be undertaken by Biosar Energy (through its Australian arm), which has completed over 1.3-gigawatt of installed capacity in 13 countries. The Childers project will create between 100 and 125 jobs.
With a cost of $275 million, Australia’s largest solar and battery power plant is slated to be built in NSW in 2018. Once built, Sunraysia will be more than double the size of the current largest solar plant, a 102-megawatt generation facility at Nyngan in NSW. It will take the mantle of the largest operating solar project in the southern hemisphere from Nygnan once operational.
The Aurora solar plant in Port Augusta, SA, will begin construction this year, and is slated to provide 100% of the state government’s electricity needs by 2020. The project costs $650 million, and will be built by American company SolarReserve. The project is expected to create 650 local jobs during construction.
Our summary of some of the high priority infrastructure and construction projects in Australia this year, shows a boom in renewable projects. With short, medium and long-term projects underway, and new projects continuing to emerge, the construction industry continues to grow quickly showing the massive opportunity this growth could provide to the earthmoving industry.
Contact us for a free demo of our high performance excavator attachments onsite today.
