Australia Infrastructure Update for Construction Jobs
Posted by Richard Poulter, Construction Recruitment Director, Hong Kong on Sunday, September 17, 2023
Recent announcements that Brisbane will host the 2032 Olympic Games will no doubt help to fuel the economies of Australia. Federal and regional governments are pushing ahead with spectacular infrastructure projects, some of which in preparation for the development and regeneration of the requisite sporting facilities infrastructure.
Let’s take a look at the progress of some of the of the largest, most challenging and exciting construction infrastructure projects that are currently live or in procurement stage in Australia offering well paid project manager jobs, quantity surveyor jobs, and construction claims and dispute resolution jobs for qualified and suitably experienced construction professionals.
Inland Rail Project | A$15Billion
This complex and challenging project will see a 1700 km freight rail line be constructed from Melbourne to Brisbane across the east coast, bypassing the congested Sydney network. Overseen by ARTC, the project is divided into 13 sections across Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. Various consortia are vying for the packages typically procured under a PPP model.
Cross River Rail Project (CRRP)
Civil engineering recruitment continues at pace on this CRRP 10.2 km train line involving 5.9 km, twin tunnels running under Brisbane River and CBD. The project will deliver 4 new underground stations, 8 upgraded stations and 3 new Gold Coast stations.
Sydney Metro (NSW) – A$12Billion
The Sydney Metro Mega is currently Australia’s largest public transportation project comprising 31 metro stations and 66 km of standalone metro train system and divided into two parts:
- Sydney Metro North West – 24km linking Westmead to CBD and is now open.
- Sydney Mero City and South West – a 30 km extension to Sydney Metro North West all the way to Chatswood with continuous construction recruitment needs.
Melbourne Metro | A$11Billion
With a target completion date of 2025, split into 5 separate works packages, featuring twin 9km tunnels running from the west of the city to the south-east through CBD; together with high capacity signalling upgrades the Metro Tunnel Project Metro Tunnel project will increase passenger flow by half a million a week.
Tunnelling engineers and rail systems engineers for this project are known to be in short supply, as are candidates for key construction engineering and project management positions.
In addition, a project to remove 85 level crossings across metropolitan Melbourne has been awarded with a price tag of A$15 Billion.
Perth Metronet -A$8 Billion
This exciting project comprises 72 km of rail line connecting 18 stations, multiple railway crossing removals and significant upgrades to the Perth rail network signalling and fleet infrastructure. Multiple packages have been awarded starting from 2019 with a target completion date of 2026.
Western Sydney Airport (NSW) | A$5.3 Billion
The Nancy Bird Walton Airport as it will be named, is continuing at pace and will be developed in phases with the first phase comprising a single runway with a capacity of up to 10 million passengers, scheduled to open in 2026. The project has evolved across multiple procurement packages including civil, bulk earthworks, architectural design, speciality works and construction delivery with project management oversight providing fantastic opportunities across a plethora of disciplines.
Summary
These infrastructure projects are immense and extremely complex and present a colossal challenge to successfully and safely deliver on time and within budget.
Building and civil engineering contractors as well as client organizations and engineering consultants are all looking for high calibre construction professionals such as planners, project managers, civil engineers and quantity surveyors to employ.
With mega sized infrastructure projects there are invariably construction disputes amongst the key stakeholders giving rise to an increasing number of construction claims jobs down under.
The team at Maxim is working hard to secure suitable candidates for excellent career opportunities in construction dispute resolution jobs.
Quantity Surveying recruitment in Australia is also super busy at this time and we look forward to hearing from those interested to pursue quantity surveyor careers or indeed you if you would like to progress your interest in a construction job in Australia on one of these major projects.
Richard has successfully recruited for the construction industry for the past 13 years following 15 years as a civil engineer and construction project manager. He is based in Hong Kong and responsible for Maxim Recruitment operations in Hong Kong, Asia, Australia and the Middle East.