Top Civil Engineering and Construction Companies in Australia 2023

acciona, BMD, bouygues construction, CPB, Downer, fulton hogan, john holland, lendlease, mcconnell dowell,

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Below is ConsultANZ’s guide to top civil engineering and construction companies in Australia in 2023 that are responsible for some of Australia’s largest infrastructure projects. 

CPB Contractors

CPB Contractors is a leading international construction company and a member of the CIMIC Group. The company designs and builds infrastructure across all key sectors, including roads, rail, tunneling, defence, building, and resources infrastructure.

In January 2016, the merger of the CIMIC Group construction businesses of Leighton Contractors and Thiess Construction resulted in a new name and brand: CPB Contractors. The company operates in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, India, and Papua New Guinea.

Significant projects: Bruce Highway Upgrade, Parramatta Light Rail, METRONET, Sydney Metro Western Sydney Airport Rail, Warringah Freeway Upgrade, Cross River Rail, WestConnex Rozelle Interchange, Melbourne M80 Ring Road, North East Link and many more. 

Final major $1.63b tunnelling contract awarded for the Sydney Metro West project

Read more about CPB Contractors projects here.

CPB Contractors website

ACCIONA

ACCIONA is a global group that develops and manages sustainable infrastructure solutions, especially in renewable energy. It was founded in Galicia, Spain in 1900 and is involved in such sectors as the development and management of infrastructure (construction, water, industrial, and services) and renewable energy.

Acciona employs 30,000 professionals, and it is to be found in 30 countries on five continents (Source: Wikipedia).  ACCIONA’s activity in Australia began in 2002 with renewable energy projects. Since 2007, the company has also been involved in transport projects.

In Australia, ACCIONA has been involved in such projects as Pacific Highway Upgrade, Sydney Metro West, Regional Rail Link Work Packages, New England Highway Upgrade, Sydney Western Harbour Tunnel, Adelaide Rail Revitalisation, and many more.

In addition, the company is developing Australia’s largest wind farm – Herries Range Wind Farm in Southern Queensland. They are currently working on a few renewable energy projects across Queensland, Victoria, and New South Wales. 

ACCIONA has also entered the New Zealand market, with the award of a PPP contract to design, build, finance, manage and maintain the Puhoi-Warkworth motorway for 25 years.

$4.24b contract to deliver Stage 2 of Sydney’s Western Harbour Tunnel awarded to ACCIONA

Acciona Energia to build a new Queensland wind farm worth $2 billion

Read more about ACCIONA’s projects here

ACCIONA website

Lendlease

Lendlease is an international company with an Australian heritage, as well as local expertise across the core markets of Australia, Asia, the Americas, and Europe. They have around 13,000 employees and more than 50,000 sub-contractors supporting the delivery of active projects and managing assets around the world.

The company is headquartered in Barangaroo, Sydney, Australia, and its portfolio includes some of the world’s most iconic projects such as Australia Square, Anzac Bridge, Sydney Olympic Park, and Tate Britain.

Lendlease has recently sold its engineering business behind the Melbourne Metro and the Sydney NorthConnex projects, to the Spanish construction group ACCIONA. The transaction, valued at AU$ 160 million (€99 million) comprises the majority of Lendlease Engineering’s construction projects. Under the terms of the agreement, the NorthConnex, the Kingsford Smith Drive, and the Melbourne Metro projects will remain with Lendlease.

Lendlease website

Laing O’Rourke Australia

Laing O’Rourke is an international engineering enterprise, with operations in Europe, Australia, and the Middle East. It specializes in Construction, Infrastructure, Engineering, Programme Management, Oil and Gas, Innovation, Digital Engineering, DfMA, Building Services, Civil Engineering, Offsite construction, and Manufacturing.

Laing O’Rourke is involved in many significant projects such as Parramatta Light Rail, South Eastern Program Alliance, Great Eastern Highway Bypass Interchange, Sydney Metro Central Station development, Muswellbrook Bridge Replacement, and many more. 

$1.86 billion METRONET Forrestfield-Airport Link to begin operations in early October 2022

Read more about Laing O’Rourke’s website here

Laing O’Rourke website

John Holland

John Holland & Co. was founded in 1949 by Sir John Holland and won its first major civil engineering project the following year. Over the next thirty years, John Holland & Co grew and diversified, delivering significant projects around Australia, such as the new Parliament House in Canberra and the Sydney Entertainment Centre.

In 1991, Janet Holmes à Court’s Heytesbury Pty Ltd acquired John Holland. In 2000, Leighton Holdings acquired the majority shareholding in John Holland. In April 2015, John Holland was purchased by China Communications Construction Company International Holding Limited (CCCI).

John Holland specializes in Civil Engineering, Energy, Social Infrastructure & Building, Electrical & Instrumentation, Tunnelling, Water & Wastewater, Mechanical & Process, Rail, Minerals & Industrial, Marine, Property, Development, and Rail O&M.

The company has been involved in the following projects: Melbourne Metro Tunnel, M1 Pacific Motorway Extension to Raymond Terrace, Sydney Bus Network Region 9, West Gate Tunnel, Canberra Metro Light Rail Operations, Sydney Metro City and Southwest, WestConnex New M4 Tunnels, Melbourne Level Crossing Removal and many more. 

Contractors locked in for the new M1 Pacific Motorway Extension to Raymond Terrace

John Holland website

Fulton Hogan

The company was founded by Julius Fulton and Robert Hogan in Dunedin in 1933. Fulton Hogan has more than 80 years of experience in the transport, water, energy, mining and land development infrastructure sector in New Zealand, Australia and the South Pacific.

Fulton Hogan employs more than 7,800 people and has been involved in the following projects: Newell Highway, Midway Point Intersection Solution, and many more. They are also involved in several New Zealand projects such as Auckland Light Rail, Cambridge Road Overbridge, and many more. 

Fulton Hogan begins construction work for $261m Newell Highway

Fulton Hogan and HEB Joint Venture begin construction on Cambridge Road Overbridge

Read more about Fulton Hogan’s projects here

Fulton Hogan website

Webuild (Salini Impregilo)

Webuild is an Italian infrastructure giant with $8.85 bn turnover and 35,000 employees. They have undertaken risky and complicated projects in the past such as Ethiopia’s Grand Renaissance Dam and the expansion of the Panama Canal.

On 8 November 2022, Webuild signed a sale and purchase agreement (“SPA”) with the South African company Murray & Roberts for the acquisition of 100% of Clough. At the beginning of 2023, Webuild announced it has completed negotiations and is close to finalizing an agreement to expand the Group’s acquisition perimeter to include a number of additional projects. 

 

The company won a $3.44bn share of a $5.25bn contract in 2019 for the civil and electromechanical works on Australia’s biggest hydroelectric scheme, Snowy 2.0. Webuild have worked on projects such as the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport, North East Link, and Inland Rail as well.  

Webuild specializes in the construction of large works and large complex infrastructure for the sustainable mobility, clean hydro energy, clean water and green buildings sectors.

Final major contract awarded for Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport project

Webuild website

BMD

BMD started as a family business in 1979. The company was named after the company’s founders. BMD is a group of companies engaged in engineering design, construction and land development, transport infrastructure and resources and energy sectors.

BMD has delivered the following projects in the past: New Parallel Runway, Seventh Street Extension, Bringelly Road Upgrade Stage 1, Fortescue River Bridge Replacement, and Christies Beach Waste Water Treatment Plant Upgrade. 

BMD are involved in a number of projects including Centenary Bridge Upgrade, Deception Bay Interchange in West Brisbane, Hall Road Upgrade in Victoria, Victoria Park – Canning Level Crossing Removal, and many more. 

Contract awarded for $298.5m Centenary Bridge upgrade project

Read more about BMD projects here

BMD website

Downer

Downer employs more than 52,000 people across more than 300 sites, primarily in Australia and New Zealand but also in the Asia-Pacific region, South America and Southern Africa.

Over the past few years, Downer has acquired a number of businesses: Spotless, EPICURE, DM Roads, Reconomy, VEC, Mineral Technologies, Keolis Downer, Hawkins, Downer PipeTech, Road Science (NZ), RPQ.

Downer reports its financial results under six service lines: Transport, Utilities, Rail, Engineering, Construction and Maintenance, Mining and Facilities.

The company has been involved in several projects in the past including Wheatstone, Gorgon Gas project, Christmas Creek Mine, Carrapateena Mine, Gruyere Gold Project, Meandu Mine operations, Ross River solar farm, Clare solar farm, Australia’s National Broadband Network, High Capacity Metro Trains (HCMT) with CRRC Changchun Railway Vehicles, Newcastle Light Rail, and many more.

Downer are currently involved in these projects: Parramatta Light Rail, South Geelong to Waurn Ponds Duplication project, Western Port Highway Upgrade in South-East Melbourne, and many more.

Downer website

McConnell Dowell

Established in New Zealand 1961, McConnel Dowell is an engineering, construction and maintenance contractor. The company became a key player in the construction industry and expanded to other countries such as Australia, Asia, and the Middle East. 

It has over 3000 employees worldwide and is owned by the international infrastructure and resources company Avent Limited.

The top-tier Civil Engineering and Construction company focuses on civil, electrical, fabrication, marine, mechanical, pipelines, rail, tunnel and underground construction. McConnell Dowell has completed many projects, including constructing bridges, airports, railways, water treatment facilities, and offshore oil and gas facilities.

Some of the most significant projects the company is currently working on include Inland Rail Victoria, South Geelong to Waurn Ponds Rail Duplication, Epping Road Upgrade, New Bridgewater Bridge, METRONET Midland Station, Level Crossing Removal Project, and many more.

Read more about McConnell Dowell’s projects here.

 McConnell Dowell website

Bouygues Construction

Bouygues Construction is a Civil Engineering and Construction company that has grown into one of the world’s most influential industrial groups. The company provides world-class civil engineering, building, earthworks, and infrastructure services across Australia and has worked on numerous projects worldwide.

Bouygues Construction employs approximately 53,000 employees and operates in over 60 countries (Bouygues Construction, 2023). As of the 1st of January 2023, the Civil Engineering and Construction company has generated sales of €12.8 billion.

Some of Bouygues Construction’s projects include Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel, WestConnex M4-M5 Tunnels, and many more.

ACCICONA Samsung Bouygues Joint Venture completes 7.5km M4 and M8 link

Bouygues Construction is delivering construction, operation, and maintenance on several solar farms across Australia in collaboration with other clients to produce sustainable energy solutions. These solar farms include Parkes Solar Farm, Griffith Solar Farm, Whitsunday Solar Farm, Hamilton Solar Farm, and others across the continent.

Read more about Bouygues Construction projects here.

Bouygues Construction website

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