Laing O’Rourke in deal for 155km highway upgrade

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Laing O’Rourke in deal for 155km highway upgrade

Laing O’Rourke along with Parsons Brinckerhoff has signed a contract to deliver the final 155km section of the Pacific Highway upgrade in Australia. The new stretch will connect to the Sapphire to Woolgoolga section

The Woolgoolga to Ballina upgrade is the final link in the highway duplication to create a four-lane dual carriageway running all the way from Brisbane to Melbourne. The Australian government has committed AU$5.64bn (£2.76bn) to completing the full duplication of the highway by the end of the decade.

The team – called Pacific Complete – will serve as delivery partner for the contract with the Roads & Maritime Services authority in New South Wales.

“Pacific Complete will be responsible for managing the delivery of the remaining 155km of the duplication, with this section of road forming an important link between Hexham and the Queensland border,” said deputy prime minister Warren Truss.

It is the first time that the delivery partner model had been used for a major Australian infrastructure project. “Using a delivery partner is globally recognised as an innovative and effective way to get the best results for major infrastructure projects and has been used on large-scale projects such as the 2012 London Olympic Games,” said Truss in announcing Pacific Complete as preferred bidder in April. “The model has been tailored to meet specific needs of the Woolgoolga to Ballina section of highway, combining the knowledge and expertise of government in areas such as engineering and planning with that of the private industry.”

Truss said that Pacific Complete has been chosen as the preferred delivery partner oversee the 155km upgrade because of its design, building and management expertise.

Federal Member for Page Kevin Hogan had earlier said that the delivery partner was expected to employ over 200 people and would establish its main office in Grafton.

At the peak of construction, 4,000 people will work directly on this project, with a further 12,000 working indirectly on the upgrade.

Source: The Construction Index

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The options for education is another area that needs to be thought through.

Moving your child to a new country with a different education system can be a great opportunity to broaden their experience, but if they are close to key exams the timing can make this inadvisable. If you do take your family with you, it is important to decide between joining the local school system or choosing an international school.

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