Dating back to 1896, the modern Olympic Games are synonymous with the sporting world’s highest achievers.
The most recent Games – London 2012 – continued to showcase the talent and athletic prowess present in competitive sport today. However, one of the most impressive spectacles occurred before the event even began.
The London 2012 infrastructure program consisted of 70 individual projects. It was delivered on time and under the allocated budget of £9.3 billion (AU$19.7 billion).
Some 670 acres of contaminated wasteland in Stratford, East London, was transformed into a world-class venue, and more than 90 per cent of construction waste was reused or recycled.
One key innovation in the momentous project’s successful delivery was its use of the delivery partner model. Under the model, a single contractor or consortium is employed to deliver the project, saving time and potentially costs for the client.
The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) selected the CH2M HILL, Laing O’Rourke and Mace consortium (CLM) as its delivery partner in the Games’ construction program. Essentially, the role of the delivery partner is to provide specific skills and resources and work closely with the client.
In 2011, the ODA published a case study on its success with the delivery partner model. It concluded that: “the successful outcome of the project is in no small part driven by the success of the client and delivery partner relationship. Through consultation with key people on the program it has been possible to put forward a best practice framework for mutual success.”
Given the successful employment of the delivery partner model and the response to its implementation at London 2012, the concept is now being employed internationally, including here in Australia.
The Pacific Highway Upgrade is an immense infrastructure program that involves the construction of a 657-kilometre four-lane divided road from Hexham to Queensland, connecting Sydney and Brisbane.
The expansive project began in 1996 and has an anticipated completion date of 2020. About 397 kilometres or 60 per cent, of the Pacific Highway between Hexham and the Queensland border are now four-lane divided road.
Bob Higgins, Pacific Highway General Manager, says there are 260 kilometres of road left to construct, which will be delivered and open to traffic by the 2020 completion date. “We currently have more than 150 kilometres of road being built between Port Macquarie and the Queensland border using a range of different contract models, which is about the length of the M1 motorway from Sydney to Newcastle,” he adds.
The Pacific Highway Upgrade is in its final stages, with the 155-kilometre Woolgoolga to Ballina section being the last piece in the puzzle. In July last year, the New South Wales and Australian Governments announced that the delivery partner model will be used to manage the upgrade – the first time the concept has been adopted in Australia.
Mr. Higgins says that the delivery partner model is an innovative means of engaging private industry to work with government agencies to manage the delivery of the final leg of the Pacific Highway upgrade. The project consists of a number of split-level interchanges, bypasses, about 40 bridges, access roads, rest areas, a heavy vehicle checking station and, of course, the duplication work itself.
The Australian and NSW Governments awarded Pacific Complete (a consortium of Laing O’Rourke and WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff) the contract for the delivery partner role earlier this year. Now, the consortium is working with Roads and Maritime Services (RMS) to deliver the final stretch of the project.
“Pacific Complete will not carry out the actual building work under the delivery partner model,” Mr. Higgins explains. “Instead, the delivery partner will work closely with RMS’ Pacific Highway Office to procure contract packages for the work as well as finding innovative ways to reduce costs and adopt best industry practice in the design and building work.” RMS staff, for instance, will be assigned to delivery partner offices to provide support across a range of fields, including stakeholder engagement, road and bridge design and project management. Pacific Complete will hold the principal contractor role and environmental licence.
“The delivery partner model encourages the best ideas and solutions from the private sector and is tailored to this project so that it draws on NSW Government knowledge to deliver better engineering and design, customer outcomes and public value,” says Mr. Higgins.
The model also allows for better outcomes across the supply chain. This is through a consistent and coordinated approach, economies of scale and better access to competitive supplies and contractors, which will help the project meet its 2020 deadline.
Site establishment for soft soil work on two sections of the upgrade began in August with major work expected to start in the coming months. At the peak of its construction, 2000 workers will be engaged directly on the upgrade with a further 7500 indirect jobs being created.
RMS anticipates the upgrade will improve safety and increase travel reliability through better flood immunity, fewer incidents, more readily available alternative routes and a 25-minute reduction in the highway’s travel time.
Like London 2012, the use of the delivery partner model in the last link of the Pacific Highway upgrade has many benefits, suitable for the scale of the job at hand. “Duplication of the Pacific Highway is regional Australia’s largest infrastructure project, so using the delivery partner model makes sense.”