Building Industry News

Federal Member assures Coast builders they will participate in school refurbishments
Federal Member for Dobell, Craig Thompson and Senator The Hon. Mark Arbib have assured Central Coast builders that they will benefit from the rollout of the Government’s stimulus package for new facilities and refurbishments of Central Coast and Hunter schools.

The assurance followed the announcement of the appointment of Bovis Lend Lease as the managing contractor at a Forum hosted by Mr Thompson in mid-April to inform Central Coast businesses of how they would benefit from the Government’s stimulus package.

Following a discussion with Mr Thompson and Mr Arbib, Wayne Gates of LA Commercial stated that this would be an exciting opportunity for the Central Coast construction industry and that LA Commercial has significant experience in school construction management and if successful in securing contracts will ensure that local trades are utilised.

Stevens Construction building for West Australian developer
Erina-based builder, Stevens Construction, have commenced work on a $8.5 million four-storey commercial office building adjacent to Westmead Private Hospital in Sydney. The 5,000sqm GFA building comprises specialist medical professional suites and is being built for a West Australian developer.

Stevens Construction won the tender on a competitive basis and commenced piling works in April with a completion date set for February 2010. Director, Jason Lewis said that they are excited by the prospect of working with a new client and professional design team on a site that has a high degree of construction difficulty and that will finish with a high end product that all who were involved can be proud of.

Being located adjacent to Westmead Private Hospital and having very little access has meant that the site team involved will be constantly reviewing the construction management processes for the building to ensure the health and safety of the public along with the construction timetable are maintained.

Brewery appoints builder for $120m project
Bluetongue Brewery has announced the appointment of Qanstruct to begin work on the construction of its $120 million brewery at Warnervale. The site is nearing the final stages of earth works, which were carried out by local civil contractor, Robson Civil Projects, with the building stage to move into full swing by June 2009 in anticipation of a projected completion in March 2010.

As the principal building contractor, Qanstruct will coordinate all the building works for the project in accordance with the design requirements. Damien Toppi, Business Development Manager for Qanstruct said, “Qanstruct has a close association with Coca Cola Amatil (CCA) following the construction of their distribution facility in Mentone, Victoria.”

Peter McLoughlin, CEO of Pacific Beverages, which is the joint venture between SABMiller and Coca-Cola Amatil, indicated he was very happy with the progress of the project to date. “It will create employment opportunities for subcontractors and material suppliers as well as the economic multiplier effects that will be generated from such a large investment in the region. Appointing Qanstruct is a key step in this process,” he said.

GWH Group building freight terminal for Toll Ipec at Berkeley Vale
Hunter-based property developers and builders, GWH Group, have started construction on a Freight Terminal for carriers, Toll Ipec. The $3.7 million project, which comprises approximately 1,279sqm of warehouse/terminal building and offices, is on an 8,472sqm site. Construction commenced in February and is scheduled to be completed by the end of May.

Currently GWH Group is focusing attention on developing “Pacific Industrial Estate” located off the Pacific Highway at Wadalba. This Estate offers land parcels from 2,000sqm to 20,700sqm. For more information contact GWH Group on (02) 4966 3766.

North Constructions wins two government tenders
Gosford-based builders, North Construction & Building have been awarded contracts to build two facilities for the Department of Aging, Disability and Home Care on the Central Coast.

The first is for four, 5-bedroom Care Houses at Fig Close, Wadalba with a project value of $3.8 million. Construction on the facility commenced in April and is expected to be completed by October 2009.

The second is for a 100-bed Aged Care Facility at Pacific Highway, Hamlyn Terrace with a project value of $22.4 million.
Construction is to commence in May and be completed around July 2010.

Commenting on the projects, Managing Director, Tim Cornish said, “These projects, combined with work in hand, and a number of strong prospects in the pipeline will allow for the continued growth of the business. It looks as though the government stimulus packages which have been targeted at the construction industry are already having an effect, with more clients seeking to commit to projects now than in the past six months.”

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