Announcement of Project winners:

Palmerston Boat Ramp – Presidents Award
The new Palmerston Boat Ramp and associated infrastructure are excellent recreational facilities that will cater to the growing number of Territorians who fish in Darwin Harbour. Built by the Territory Government in partnership with Macmahon these new facilities are expected to discourage unsafe fishing practices along the Elizabeth River and Channel Island Bridges.

The existing boat ramp has been expanded to fit a floating pontoon down the centre, ensuring the maximum number of vessels can use the facility at once. The floating pontoon is extremely stable and is built to withstand the movement of strong currents and severe weather. The boat ramp upgrade also includes a state-of-the-art aluminium fishing jetty for land-based fishers, which is high quality, low maintenance and corrosion-resistant. The project features extensive car parking, security lighting and a disabled access ramp to ensure all Territorians can enjoy the facilities. The Territory Government through its Department of Construction and Infrastructure and Macmahon have demonstrated ingenuity, originality and innovation in overcoming significant budget, weather and tidal issues to produce an outstanding facility.

Tiger Brennan Drive Extension Project - Peoples Choice Award
The extension of Tiger Brennan Drive from Berrimah Road to the Stuart Highway included a grade separated interchange with the Highway, Roystonea Avenue and the new dual lane carriageways. Works included design and construction of 7.5 kilometres of roadway, two overpass bridges and associated ramps as well as a pedestrian and cyclist facility.

As this project was the largest road and bridge contract ever undertaken by the Northern Territory Government, an innovative contract model was sought to ensure the large scope could be delivered within a reasonable timeframe. Macmahon Contractors were the successful tenderer for the Tiger Brennan Drive Extension project, along with their main consultant - Sinclair Knight Merz.

Construction of a large interchange and management of the 34,000 vehicles per day travelling through the site presented specific traffic obstacles. Fill materials totalling almost half a million cubic metres were also used.

The project faced many challenges which were overcome through teamwork, good engineering and planning. The entire project was opened to traffic ahead of schedule on 20 December 2010.

Bridging the Gap – Highly Commended ( Reports, Procedures & Systems)
As part of the Northern Territory Government’s Working Future – Closing the Gap strategy to address indigenous issues, the Government has identified 20 remote towns to be developed as strategically important. Fifteen of these twenty Growth Towns are under the Council of Australian Governments National Partnership Agreement with the Commonwealth Government.

A key objective of the Territory Growth Towns policy is to improve transport services and infrastructure provision in and around the Towns. This submission proposes a significant program of works to bring roads up to a standard that would be expected elsewhere in regional Australia. Towards this objective, the Northern Territory Government has completed a transport infrastructure survey and a gap analysis of multi modal transport assets and infrastructure in each of the Towns.

The gap analysis has included an inventory survey and assessment of the condition, capacity and usage of roads, barge landings and aerodromes across each of the Territory Growth Towns and their surrounding regions. Whilst all of these assets were examined, the submission was only for the road infrastructure.

This report was endorsed by Cabinet and submitted for funding to the Australian Government.

Bushlight India Project – 2011 Engineering Excellence Award
The Bushlight India Project collaboratively developed a highly replicable model for the implementation of sustainable, reliable, renewable energy systems for remote village electrification in India.

Bushlight India has provided 95 households, nine commercial establishments and four community buildings with equitable and affordable power.

Key outcomes of the project were: The development of the Bushlight India Model by CAT Projects to comprehensively document and resource a set of processes including village selection and financial modelling, community energy planning, system design and establishment of post-installation support structures.

Local capacity building to implement the Bushlight India Model and to manufacture and support the hardware specifically developed for the project.

The design of the Urja Bandhu unit to provide a programmable fixed, agreed amount of electricity each 24 hour period to each consumer and the System Control Board that segregates the different load types within a community. The unit was designed by CAT Projects and manufactured in India.

Completion of demonstration systems in two remote villages in the states of Orissa and West Bengal.

This project received funding from the Australian Government, Department of Climate Change and Energy Efficiency, as part of the Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate.

McArthur River Bridge – Highly Commended Engineering Excellence Award
The McArthur River Bridge provides a vital link between Borroloola and surrounding communities in the Roper Gulf Shire. The project, managed by the Department of Construction and Infrastructure for the Territory Government and built by Steelcon, was driven by the need for better access across the McArthur River during the wet season. Prior to the construction of the bridge on Wollogorang Road, residents were often forced to make the hazardous journey across the fast-flowing river by boat. The bridge will provide flood immunity and service communities across the River, mining and pastoral industries as well as tourists on the Savannah Way reducing closure times from up to 45 days to 7 this year.

The $7 million McArthur River Bridge is a single lane bridge featuring pedestrian access, with the provision for two lanes in the future. The project was constructed efficiently over one dry season, and also featured a high level of quality control. Bridge beams were pre cast in Darwin during the wet season so that construction could start as soon as the dry season began. The project also helped to boost skills in the region, by employing Indigenous workers during the construction phase.

Alice Springs Airport Solar Power Station – Australia Solar Energy Society Award for Sustainability * Engineering Excellence Award for Environment & Sustainability ( won 2 Awards)
In 2010, Alice Springs Airport became the first Australian airport to have a large scale (over 100KW) photovoltaic system providing a direct source of renewable energy to its internal grid.

The first of its kind in the southern hemisphere, the Solar Power Station comprises 28 SolFocus arrays, each eight metres wide and seven metres high.

The Solar Power Station now supplies approximately 20% of the airport’s energy needs, reducing its carbon emissions by about 470 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, the equivalent of about 70 Alice Springs households per annum.

Concentrator Photovoltaic (CPV) systems are an emerging solar technology that offer greater opportunities for cost reductions in photovoltaic systems. They are more efficient as they track the sun throughout the day, whereas traditional solar power systems are most efficient only when the sun is shining directly onto the solar arrays.

The project was completed on time and within budget.