Contracts were today signed with Downer for programs of work across Unitywater’s portfolio of wastewater treatment plants and its southern distribution networks, along with Dormway for work on the northern distribution networks. Elevate – a joint venture of Aurecon and AECOM– was appointed as professional services partner to provide front end engineering and design services.
Signed for initial five-year terms, the framework agreements will see work awarded to the partners progressively, if performance standards are met and maintained.
Unitywater Chief Executive Officer Anna Jackson said the collaborative partnerships will streamline the capital delivery process to deliver better cost, time and quality outcomes.
“Our delivery partners are being integrated with our own teams through a trusted partnership model, where we more openly exchange knowledge and move projects through into delivery faster,” said Ms Jackson.
“With the Australian and Queensland construction markets experiencing unprecedented demand, it’s also valuable for all partners to have increased visibility of the pipeline of work and certainty that the skills and resources will be there to deliver the assets.
“Each of our new partners was chosen for their expertise and experience, and collectively bring time spent working locally on Unitywater’s assets as well as some of the biggest and most challenging water infrastructure projects both onshore and internationally.
“We’re well positioned to maintain the reliability of services for our existing customers, while we go through a period of significant network expansion to accommodate the future customers who will live, work and holiday in this beautiful part of the world.”
Among the first programs of work to be delivered by Unitywater’s new partners are upgrades at Coolum and Noosa wastewater treatment plants, new wastewater pipe networks around Narangba, upgrades to a series of wastewater pumpstations in the northern catchment, and construction of a new water storage reservoir in Pine Valley.
The new capital delivery partnerships were selected through a multistage procurement process that began in December 2022 with organisations assessed against cultural alignment, their ability to deliver the works safely, efficiently and cost-effectively and make a positive contribution to Unitywater’s environmental and community engagement goals.
Unitywater operates more than $3.8 billion of water, wastewater, and recycled water infrastructure to provide safe and reliable water services to more than 370,000 customer connections and a population of more than 800,000 people – projected to grow to over 1 million by 2031.
