17 Nov 09
Top 10 engineering wonders of Queensland announced
During 2009, while Queensland celebrated its 150th anniversary, Engineers Australia honoured its 90th year as an institution. This represented a unique opportunity for us to promote the crucial contribution the engineering profession has made to Queensland’s rich history.
With the view to develop an Engineering Wonders of Queensland publication, Queensland’s engineering community was invited to nominate projects they believed were among the state’s most valuable in terms of contribution to the economy, improving community health and living standards, and world-leading innovation.
We were inundated with nominations for a tremendously diverse range of engineering projects and networks covering all corners of Queensland. The nominations highlighted the enormous scope and value that engineering provides to communities across the state. It was then the difficult task of a highly accomplished judging panel to determine the top engineering projects of Queensland to be featured in the publication.
It is our hope that the Engineering Wonders of Queensland will stir interest and debate about what a future Queensland may look like, and how the profession of engineering can continue to be a source of solutions and ideas for another 150 years to come.
Bundamba Advanced Water Treatment Plant
The Bundamba Advanced Water Treatment plant is part of the Western Corridor Water Recycling Project, which is the largest recycled water project in the southern hemisphere. With a total capacity of 230 megalitres per day, this project will be a key contributor to sustainable living in South East Queensland.
A major component of the overall project is the Bundamba Advanced Water Treatment Plant, which will contribute 66 megalitres of fresh recycled water each day. Using the latest membrane and advanced oxidation technologies to provide purified water for cooling and other processes, the main treatment steps – ultrafiltration membranes, reverse osmosis membranes followed by advanced oxidation using ultraviolet irradiation and hydrogen peroxide – represent the international gold standard for water reclamation.
Mount Isa Mines
Mount Isa Mines, acquired by mining giant Xstrata in 2003, pioneered some of the first mining and processing practices used in Australia and it continues to make significant advances in engineering technologies today. Many of these technologies are regarded as industry-leading and have been adapted by mining operations across the globe. Mount Isa Mines operates two separate mining and processing streams, copper and zinc-lead-silver. Together, the mines form one of the largest underground mining operations in the world, and employ close to 3,500 employees and nearly 1,000 contractors.
Story Bridge
Built in a time of tremendous economic difficulty, the Story Bridge is one of Queensland’s most recognisable landmarks and is arguably the star of Brisbane’s beautiful cityscape. From its conception as a job-generator in the 1930s, balanced with the need to anticipate the city’s traffic volume decades into the future, the Story Bridge is an exceptional engineering success.
Wivenhoe Dam
Wivenhoe Dam was designed as a multifunctional facility with the primary purpose to provide a safe and reliable source of water to the greater Brisbane region. Wivenhoe Dam also houses a pumped storage, hydroelectric power station, which is a critical source of quick-start, emergency power to support the state’s electricity grid. Wivenhoe Dam is a tremendous asset to South East Queensland, and the river city owes much of its enviable lifestyle to its water conservation, flood mitigation and power-generating capacities, all made possible through engineering.
Central Queensland Coal Infrastructure
Central Queensland has a rich endowment of high-quality coal resources. The region’s coal industry is a cornerstone of the strong economic growth of the state and it is the most significant contributor to Australia’s principal export product. World-class coal mines and infrastructure, including electrified rail links from the coalfields, allow the efficient production and transport of coal from mines to market.
Electricity Transmission Network
Queensland has one of the longest high voltage transmission networks in the world. The network plays a crucial role in supporting Queensland’s economic prosperity, underpinning resource and industrial development across the state, and responding to high levels of population growth. Queensland’s electricity transmission grid has been independently recognised as a world leader in overall reliability, restoration times and cost efficiency. The network also consistently sets national and international benchmarks in the application of new technologies and work practices.
Sugar Network
Sugar is one of Australia’s most important rural industries and Queensland is among the world’s largest exporters of raw sugar. Producing 35 million tonnes of sugarcane per year, equating to 4.75 million tonnes of sugar, the industry contributes around $1.75 billion to the economy each year. Queensland produces 95% of Australia’s raw sugar, and around 85% of Queensland’s raw sugar is sold on the world market. The sugarcane area in Queensland has increased by over 40% in the last two decades and represents 20% of Queensland’s total crop area.
Telecommunications
The telecommunications network has played a pivotal role in the development of Queensland and it is an indispensable part of today’s corporate and social landscape. The current value of Queensland’s telecommunications network is estimated to exceed $5 billion, with broadband infrastructure often quipped as being the roads and railways of a modern 21st century economy.
Gladstone
Gladstone has a growing reputation as Australia’s economic powerhouse and is home to some of the largest and lowest cost mineral and metal producers in the country. The second largest alumina refinery in the world, Queensland’s largest power station, and Australia’s largest aluminium smelter can all be found in Gladstone. Gladstone has one of the most substantial and sophisticated ports in the nation, and the city makes a significant contribution to the state and federal economies through its impressive industries.
Gold Coast
For more than four decades, the Gold Coast has been among Australia’s fastest growing regions and it is currently the nation’s sixth largest city. With a population expected to tip 700,000 by 2021, much of the Gold Coast’s iconic lifestyle and tourism attractions exist through the profession of engineering. Today, the Gold Coast boasts some unique engineering achievements: home to the tallest apartment building in the world (the Q1 Tower), the largest concentration of themed attractions in the southern hemisphere, and 700 kilometres of navigable canals and waterways. Contributing billions to the economy each year and accommodating a growing permanent population attracted to the lifestyle and business opportunities, the Gold Coast will continue to challenge engineers to develop sustainable communities for decades to come.
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