In December of 2011 Züblin Australia was awarded the prestigious title of ‘Tunnelling Project of the Year’ for the Southern Seawater Desalination Plant Project in Western Australia.

The Awards are organised by UK-based New Civil Engineer magazine with founding partner AITES / ITA and recognize the most innovative and successful projects, companies and individuals in the world of tunnelling.

This is the second major award for this project after winning the CCF Earth Award in WA earlier this year. The Project located in Binningup in the south of Western Australia was selected by a panel of industry experts from a record field of 74 entrants from across the globe. Their decision was unanimous and received praise from the judges. The project overcame considerable technical challenges and risks associated with both ground conditions and geographical location, as it required both onshore and offshore engineering works.

Three tunnels, comprising of two intake and one outfall tunnel, help Western Australia’s Water Corporation Southern Seawater Desalination Plant to provide urgently needed new water for the Integrated Water Supply Scheme that supplies Perth, Mandurah, the Goldfields and towns along the way to Kalgoorlie.

Mr. Erhan Oguz, Director of Züblin South East Asia and Australia said, “The commitment to anticipate and meet emerging infrastructure needs, rather than reacting to problems and shortages created by a failure to plan, is a rare quality and is what really deserves an award.” Mr. Oguz said, “The tunnels traverse land, shore and the seabed in some of Western Australia’s environmentally sensitive areas. They follow a curved ‘S’ shaped spiral which required the use of leading-edge equipment as well as some of the world’s most skilled tunnellers on the workforce, whilst overcoming these technical complexities in a highly environmentally sensitive area of the south west.” “We completed the tunnels, with a combined total length of over 2600 metres, to within a few millimetres of the designed completion point,” he noted. Züblin Australia has a head office in Perth and is regarded as one of the world’s leaders in providing technically optimised tunnelling solutions for Water, Resources and Construction projects. Recognised internationally for its outstanding innovative tunnelling solutions and setting new world standards which bring clients improved efficiencies. The International Tunnelling Awards presentation evening in December 2011, was held at the Conrad Hotel in Hong Kong and attended by a team of Züblin Australia delegates.

Züblin was also presented with a second award for ‘Technical Innovation of the Year’, together with Rehau, a global polymer processing company, and Arup, an engineering and technical consultancy. They were recognised for their joint effort to develop a tunnel lining segment that helps to capture and utilise waste heat generated during tunnelling operations.

Erhan Oguz, Director of Züblin Australia, being presented with the ‘Tunnelling Project of the Year Award 2011’ at the NCE Awards.

As a mark of appreciation and recognition of the commitment and support of all the stakeholders involved with the Project, Züblin Australia also hosted a thanksgiving event in Perth, WA, and distributed trophies and certificates.

TUNNELLING PROJECT OF THE YEAR