Sydney

In early 2005, GHD, and its partner Fichtner, were engaged by Sydney Water to undertake a feasibility study to determine if desalination was practical as an alternative water source that would complement Sydney’s existing water sources. The feasibility study, undertaken together with Sydney Water, in an integrated project team set the foundation for this milestone project.

The project comprised three main components, a 250ML/day capacity reverse osmosis desalination plant, the intake and outlet tunnels and associated marine works, and the delivery pump station and 18km long transfer pipeline across Botany Bay to the centre of the city. In a world first cement lined steel pipes of this size had never before been laid simultaneously in a string and placed in an underwater trench.

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Leighton Contractors Pty Ltd commissioned GHD as its design consultant for the design and construction of a 24km-long pipeline between Liverpool and Ashfield and other related sewer works.  Sydney Water awarded the AUD$131 million contract to Leighton in July 2006.

The Liverpool to Ashfield Pipeline (LAP) is 1050mm in diameter and runs from the Liverpool Sewage Treatment Plant to the Western Branch Main Sewer at Ashfield. The idea was to transfer wastewater flows from the Liverpool STP and the Fairfield SSTP while the Northern Georges River Submain (NGRS) is rehabilitated.  The pipeline has been constructed by open cut trenching, under boring and slip lining inside a disused 1225mm water main.

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The overall aim of the Botany Area Plan Project was to prepare an integrated strategy for the provision and management of water, wastewater, recycled water and stormwater infrastructure in order to provide safe, reliable and sustainable water services.

These services will meet the needs of urban growth in the Botany area, while complying with the requirements of Sydney Water Corporation’s (SWC) Operating and Environmental Projection Licences (EPL).

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In 2008 we engaged in a Consultancy Arrangement on an Economic Appraisal of Australia’s Shipping Future with the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government (the Department) requested for an independent economic appraisal of options available for Australian Government policy and regulatory policy settings for the Australian shipping industry. We assisted The Department in achieving a better transport system.

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The purpose of this review was to examine the grain freight supply chains and identify the most sustainable long term solution for moving grain efficiently from farmer to domestic customer or port for export.

The team undertook a quantitative and qualitative analysis which included: an examination of factors likely to impact on the future supply and demand for NSW grains; an assessment of the implications of changes in grain industry structure and the lessons from deregulation in other jurisdictions; a Benefit Cost Analysis and sensitivity testing of three options for the future of the branch line network; an analysis of the policy and regulatory context; and analysing input from Task Force  meetings, consultations and submissions.   The team also widely consulted stakeholders through a Call for Submissions to the review and a series of meetings held with grain producers and local government representatives in the three main grain growing regions of NSW. 

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Improving the environmental health of the Murray River is a concern for all Australians. The Murray Darling Basin Authority regulates the river system. It offered to pay landholders affected by the release of water from storages.

GHD worked with the Murray Darling Basin Authority, the community and technical experts to identify the impact of released water on floodplain properties, to develop consistent assessment principles and to register the impact on title via easements.

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As part of the Australian Government’s Forest Industries Climate Change Research Fund program, GHD was engaged to examine how plantation fire risk profiles may change under climate change scenarios.

One of the key climate change risks for the plantation forest industry is increasing losses from fire, coupled with rising bushfire risk management costs.

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GHD completed engineering design and survey at more than 2000 sites for Telstra’s WCDMA 850 (Jersey) national rollout.

As part of this project, GHD was engaged by several design and construction clients, including John Holland Telecommunications, Zamro, National Infrastructure Services and AAPCS.

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Erskine Park is located in northern Sydney.

GHD completed a project design for the restoration of a 210ha biodiversity corridor.

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Design and innovation were the main criteria for this commercial development that breaks new ground in building sustainability. GHD architects have succeeded on a project that has received 5-star Green Star and Australian Building Greenhouse Rating (ABGR) ratings.

Innovation Place is a 20-storey building with a gross floor area of 28,400sq m and a floor plate of approximately 1300sq m. The space includes a three-level basement parking for 143 cars, a three-storey high podium, cafe, office areas and car parking entry and loading dock.

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A GHD project team from our Wollongong office has been working with Wingecarribee Shire Council to provide engineering support to assist in the delivery of the Southern Regional Livestock Exchange (SRLE) roofing project located in Moss Vale, NSW.

The AUD4.8 million project incorporated a number of environmental initiatives including thermal insulation, solar panels, and a rainwater harvesting and re-use system that is expected to save 1.8 million litres of water annually.

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GHD was engaged by Telstra to design macro base station infrastructure for Telstra’s Mobile Network. This panel arrangement commenced in December 2006, and is a multi-year, national panel contract covering ‘greenfield’ and new co-location sites for Telstra across all states of Australia.

The range of services provided includes town planning, site inspection, survey, drafting and engineering design services. To date, GHD has completed design services at over 250 sites across Australia.

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GHD was commissioned by the Australian Government to develop a code of practice for non-urban water meters as part of Australian Technical Standard ATS 4747 – Meters for Non-Urban Water Supply.

Development of the code was based on a meteorological assurance system to define how in-service compliance requirements fit within the overall metering lifecycle and legislative requirements.

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Jemena’s Sydney Primary Loop (SPL) is a 29km DN500 pipeline which runs through south western suburbs of Sydney from a connection to an existing section of the DN550 primary loop pipeline at Casula and ties in into the existing DN550 primary main pipeline at Marrickville.  The SPL pipeline connects two major Jemena Gas Networks primary mains, thus enabling continuity and reliability of gas supply if the supply on either is interrupted.  The SPL pipeline also provides further opportunity for development of the gas distribution network in Sydney area.

The facilities and stations on the SPL pipeline include Automatic Line Break (ALB) main line valve stations, a Primary Regulator Station (PRS) at Moorebank and a Trunk Receiving Station (TRS) at West Hoxton.  GHD was selected by Jemena to undertake engineering design and construction support for the pipeline and associated stations.

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In May 2009, the Labor Member for Eden-Monaro, Mike Kelly MP, announced that GHD would partner with the RTA for the Concept and Detailed Design of the HW1 Princes Highway Bega Bypass.  Since then work on the design, geotechnical investigation and review of environmental factors for the bypass has progressed significantly, with documentation for construction tender having been completed.

The project includes 3.6 km of two lane rural highway, three bridges connecting communities with the Bega township, four reinforced soil retaining walls and three intersections.  The purposes of the project are to accommodate B-Double movements and to create the potential for reduced crash rates in the area by creating better transport pathways for local communities and highway users.

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GHD has begun using an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUD), called a Seaglider, in what is believed to be the world’s first commercial application of this advanced technology.

The instrument, which previously has been used mainly by oceanographic research institutions, offers offshore operators a new, reliable and cost-effective way of collecting high quality spatial and temporal data for ocean and estuary environmental monitoring without the costly and sometimes dangerous use of ship time.

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GHD has undertaken several biomass projects based on waste in a variety of industries, such as piggeries, meat processing, tapioca and winery waste. The projects have included resource assessments, engineering services and environmental issues.

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GHD has explored options for electricity supply to the Sydney CBD. Options including overhead cables and trenches were examained, but a tunnel was recommended to avoid disruption to the surface and to the community.

The 1.5 km tunnel between Surry Hills and Haymarket was constructed using a roadheader driven method. GHD provided project and construction management services and was involved at all stages of the four-year project, including options analysis, preliminary geotechnical investigation, concept design, D&C contract documentation, tender assessment, risk management analysis and environmental impact assessment.

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GHD provided integral design and management services for the $40 million CBD cable tunnel, which stretches for 1.5 kilometres between Surry Hills and Haymarket.

Measuring 16m² in cross section, the tunnel is 35m below ground at its deepest point and links four substations to the Sydney CBD.

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As Australia's first five star, mixed-use, high technology business park, Gore Hill brings a world-class work environment to Sydney. GHD is the architect and designer of this exciting new project.

Showcasing iconic architecture, exceptional quality and environmental sustainability, Lindsay Bennelong Developments is creating a business park that sets the benchmark by which others will be judged.

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McCain Foods commissioned GHD to upgrade the trade waste plant at their Wendouree food facility.

GHD previously provided McCain Foods with an anaerobic lagoon that incorporated biogas collection and combustion in the process steam boilers.

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GHD has carried out full audits of radio communication sites to provide assessment on occupational health and safety requirements and compliance to standards for Telstra, Optus, John Holland, Urbis, Daly International and the New South Wales Government.

Exposure to electromagnetic energy (EME) assessments include a variety of site compliance documentation, and checking on the safety of personnel accessing the site, via a preliminary radio frequency EME and RadHaz (radiation hazard) drawings, environmental EME reports (Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency report), site assessment reports, radio communication site management books and site compliance certificates.

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In terms of scale of investment the ECRL will represent one of the most significant rail infrastructure project ever undertaken in the Sydney Metropolitan Network.

The rail link now connects to Chatswood via Epping, providing an alternative route for train services from Sydney’s outer west and Central Coast to access the Sydney CBD.  The link is also crucial to the further development of the rail network into Sydney’s North Western Sector.

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Launched in January 2011, the Australian National Ports Strategy provides a coordinated planning approach for Australian governments to help plan for port infrastructure and the associated road and rail linkages that connect these important gateways to all Australian cities and towns.

Through the provision of five themed background papers, several presentations and support at two stakeholder forums, one in Melbourne and the other in Adelaide, GHD assisted Infrastructure Australia and the National Transport Commission on the development of the draft strategy.

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The Botany Area Plan project aims to provide an integrated strategy for managing water, wastewater, recycled water and stormwater infrastructure in order to provide safe, reliable and sustainable water services. These services will meet the needs of urban growth in the Botany area, while complying with the requirements of Sydney Water Corporation’s (SWC) operating and Environmental Projection Licences (EPLs).

The Botany area is close to Sydney's CBD. Redevelopment plans for the area are underway and some development has already started. The Botany area includes the infill growth areas of Redfern/Waterloo, Green Square, Wolli Creek, Cooks Cove and Sydney Airport. This project also takes these areas into account. In addition, the plan boundary incorporates the areas of Alexandria/Mascot, Botany Banksmeadow and North Arncliffe as they include minor growth pockets that needed to be considered.

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Sydney Water in partnership with Sydney Water Corporation, John Holland, Thompson Controls, and GHD delivered the $60 million Rouse Hill Recycled Water Plant – stage two amplification project. This is the Southern Hemisphere’s largest residential water recycling scheme.

Initiated in September 2006, the project doubled the capacity of the existing waste water treatment plant to 27 million litres a day and increased the recycled water capacity to 4.7 billion litres a year (this will supply 36,000 homes in the local community at project completion).

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The EcolibriumTM Mixed Waste Treatment Facility in south-west Sydney is a key sustainability initiative from WSN Environmental Solutions (WSN). WSN is a major operator of waste management infrastructure in Sydney, Australia. The plant will utilise proprietary waste processing technology from an overseas technology provider, Arrow Ecology, to convert 90,000 tonnes of municipal waste produced each year into energy, recyclable resources and soil enhancement products. In doing so, approximately 70 percent of the waste received at the gate will be diverted from landfill and 2MW of renewable energy will be generated.

GHD’s engineering staff worked on improvements to the site layout, and designed the major buildings and site infrastructure to integrate the specialist waste processing equipment (checking it met local standards). Working closely with WSN and Arrow Ecology staff, GHD assisted with procurement of key plant items, such as the biological plant tanks and the biogas power plant. GHD also had a key role in the tendering of the main civil, mechanical and electrical services contracts.

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GHD was commissioned by Transfield Bouygues Joint Venture (TBJV) to provide concept design, performance based specifications and documentation to allow TBJV to call tenders for final detail design and construct contracts. The concept designs covered:

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Australia is at the forefront of solar research and development and the Australian Solar Institute's work is looking to keep it there.

GHD has been awarded a contract to provide the Australian Solar Institute (ASI) with ongoing communications support. The work involves the delivery of a long-term communications plan, a variety of communication materials and the provision of ongoing communications support.

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The client wished to raise the current level of automation, reduce the need for operator intervention on site, allow remote monitoring and operator control, and enhance site security. GHD’s involvement on this AUD$34 million project included preliminary and engineering design, followed by detailed design and construction phase services as part of the A+C’tion Alliance (GHD, Water Corporation and Leicon Notley ).

The project included the automation and centralised control of five metropolitan water treatment plants (WTPs), two regional water treatment plants and numerous minor sites (such as chlorinators and bores). There were challenges as the age of the treatment plants varied and the requirements at each site needed to be tailored to account for site variations.

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The Sydney Ports Authority Corporation commissioned GHD to provide concept and detailed designs for a port security surveillance CCTV system in Port Botany and Sydney Harbour. The system provides surveillance on the seaward side of all main shippingberths in the two ports and the landside of the two passenger terminals. It uses fully digitised video transmission and recording, with monitoring facilities at Sydney and Port Botany. Upon installation, the system fulfilled one of the Corporation’s obligations under the Maritime Transport Security Act 2003.

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GHD formed an alliance with John Young Kelvin to fast track a AUD$1 million wastewater treatment plant upgrade to enable catering for treatment of increased volume of wastewater and improved effluent treatment for sewer discharge and reuse.

The project included a new balance tank, screen, nutrient dosing system, additional aeration for biological oxidation, UV disinfection and recycling system, dewatering system with a filter belt press and outloading.  The optimisation of the plant included modification to the existing operating strategy for pH adjustment, dissolved air floatation delivery, and bioreactors aeration and decanting.

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Swansea Bridge at Lake Macquarie in New South Wales is an opening bridge to allow vessels to pass underneath and was constructed in the mid 1980’s. Since then, harsh marine exposure conditions had resulted in corrosion and bridge deterioration. A solution was needed to increase the longevity of the bridge.

Working with the Roads and Traffic Authority NSW (RTA), GHD helped develop a long-term, environmentally-sustainable durability solution to be adopted  which would increase the bridge’s longevity plus minimise community disturbance and achieve best value for money outcomes.

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GHD provided Superintendency and related services to deliver the 111 MW Waterloo Wind Farm, completed ahead of the overall project schedule, under budget and with no lost time injuries.

Roaring 40s Renewable Energy (Roaring 40s) are the developers of the wind farm located 100 km north-east of Adelaide near the township of Waterloo. The wind farm consists of 37 V90 wind turbine generators, each with a capacity of 3 MW, with the possibility of a further six turbines to be delivered in the future. The generators sit atop 80 m high towers set along a 17 km long ridgeline.

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GHD provides a comprehensive range of services to Shenhua's Watermark Project in New South Wales, Australia.

The Shenhua Group, one of China’s leading energy companies, holds an exploration licence near Gunnedah in New South Wales that contains more than one billion tonnes of accumulated coal resources.

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Much of the investment in Natural Resource Management (NRM) in Australia is targeted towards fostering changes in land management practices. There is therefore value in developing tools and resources that will help regional NRM bodies and other investors to understand the people whose practices they are seeking to change and hence, how that change can best be fostered.

The "Making Successful Investments in NRM Practice Change" project was a four year action learning project, with the project team from GHD working in close collaboration with staff from ten regional NRM bodies across Australia.

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TransGrid engaged GHD to convert and reuse an existing warehouse and carpark building to create an office space featuring modern convenience and industrial character.

TransGrid has proven that adaptive reuse of existing facilities is not only possible, but extremely desirable.

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The Department of Commerce in New South Wales has developed comprehensive and standardised safety guidelines for radio communications sites. These guidelines will be applied by the respective government agencies that own and operate more than 5000 radio sites.

GHD is playing a pivotal role by preparing a structure for the guidelines and collecting information that is currently embedded in a number of disparate standards and codes, and the relevant occupational health and safety, and telecommunications legislation.

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