Thiess, John Holland Dragados to deliver first major

[HOCHTIEF AG - 25.06.2013] Thiess, John Holland
Dragados to deliver first major

Cconstruction for North West Rail Link
A joint venture between Thiess (50%) John Holland (25%) and Dragados (25%) has been selected by the New South Wales Government to construct the tunnels and excavate new underground stations for Sydneys visionary North West Rail Link.
Under the $1.15 billion Tunnel and Station Civil Works contract, TJHD will construct twin 15 kilometre tunnels which will run between Bella Vista and Epping. These will be the longest rail tunnels ever built in Australia. The project also includes civil works for five of the eight new stations and two service facilities. Four custom-made Tunnel Boring Machines will be used to construct the 6 metre diameter tunnels with the first of the TBMs to be in the ground by the end of next year. Leighton Holdings' Chief Executive Officer Hamish Tyrwhitt said that it was very pleasing to see a major project like North West Rail Link coming to market which suited the Leighton Group's core construction and tunnelling competencies. "The award of the project is a good example of how the Leighton Group is focusing its Operating Companies on their greatest strengths to deliver excellence and value for clients," Mr Tyrwhitt said. Thiess Managing Director Bruce Munro paid tribute to the vision of the New South Wales Government in making such a remarkable project a reality. "Thiess has been delivering major projects in New South Wales for decades and between us, Thiess and John Holland have built 70% of Australias major underground infrastructure over the last 10 years. "Together we have more tunnelling experience in Sydney sandstone than any other contractor and when combined with the international expertise of Dragados, we will deliver a fantastic transport outcome for the people of northwest Sydney, Mr Munro said. John Holland Managing Director Glenn Palin said John Holland and Thiess had delivered many national infrastructure projects together, including the Lane Cove Tunnel in Sydney. "John Holland is a world-renowned tunnelling and rail contractor, recognised with the 2012 International Tunnelling Contractor of the Year Award, and we are proud to be selected with our partners to deliver a complex tunnel and rail project with lasting benefits to the people of Sydney. Mr Palin said. Dragados International Division Projects Director, Alfonso Travesí said the Spanish company welcomed the opportunity to work in partnership with two leading Australian contractors. "Dragados has delivered more than 1,200 kilometres of tunnels across the globe and we are delighted to join Thiess and John Holland to construct such an important project for Australia, Mr Travesí said. TJHD is hitting the ground running and expects to place orders for the Tunnel Boring Machines within the next few weeks. The team is also gearing up for a proactive community engagement effort to limit disruption and inconvenience while providing information on the long term benefits of the project. Work will start shortly to prepare the three major tunnelling sites at Bella Vista, Showground and Cherrybrook with contract completion scheduled for first quarter 2017.

About Thiess
Thiess has an annual turnover of $6.5 billion and 20,000 employees, and is Australias leading and most trusted construction, mining and services contractor. Thiess has a proud record in civil, tunnelling, rail, building, water, marine, resources, mining, mine planning and scheduling, infrastructure services, energy and remediation. Thiess has a long list of major tunnelling achievements including Epping to Chatswood rail tunnels, Lane Cove, Eastlink in Melbourne and AirportlinkM7 in Brisbane. Founded by the legendary Thiess brothers nearly 80 years ago, Thiess is the largest wholly owned subsidiary of Leighton Holdings Limited. With a rich history and a pioneering spirit, Thiess is made up of passionate, talented people with industry leading experience, capabilities, skills and resources. Thiess has a large and diverse portfolio of work delivering value to clients across Australia, Indonesia, India and New Zealand. We partner with our clients to deliver safe, smart and sustainable solutions under the values of trust, innovation, passion and excellence. At Thiess, we believe in creating a brighter future together.
About John Holland
John Holland, a wholly owned subsidiary of Leighton Holdings Limited (ASX: LEI), is one of Australias leading engineering, contracting and services providers to the infrastructure, energy and resources and transport services sectors. Operating across Australia and in New Zealand, South East Asia and the Middle East, John Hollands business is driven by its collaborative approach to project delivery and its diversity of skills and capabilities. John Holland, a world-renowned tunnelling and rail contractor and 2012 International Tunnelling Contractor of the Year, has delivered Lane Cove, Eastlink and AirportlinkM7, and is working on tunnelling projects to augment the Hong Kong and Singapore transport networks. John Hollands experience covers a wide range of contracting and services capabilities, from tunnelling, building and civil construction solutions in the infrastructure sector to the delivery of major water and environment, energy, minerals and industrial projects in the energy and resources sector. John Holland is also a leading provider of services to the transport sector, with industry leading skills in railway construction, operations and maintenance, aviation services and ports infrastructure and maintenance. John Hollands strength lies in its ability to deliver diverse, complex and challenging major projects, its partnership approach to client relationships and absolute commitment to people and careers. John Holland has over 60 years experience, work in hand of over $6 billion and over 6,500 people across Australia.

About Dragados
Dragados is the flagship arm of ACS Group which has global reach in the promotion, development, construction and management of infrastructure and services of all types. ACS Group is one of the largest construction and services conglomerates in the world. Its successful track record stems from a corporate culture focused on satisfying the needs of the client through an efficient organisation and a dynamic, entrepreneurial management team. Its competitive advantage is based on the high quality of its people, excellent technology and constant innovation in each project. Dragados expertise has been used on tunnelling and transport projects in some of the worlds busiest metropolitan centres including
Construction of 21 km TBM-bored concrete-lined tunnels of the Crossrail Eastern Running Tunnels in London Line 1 of the Interurbana-Metro of Seville, one of the busiest, most heritage-sensitive cities in Europe. Dragados tunnelled successfully beneath UNESCO-listed heritage buildings while operating under strict noise and vibration limits The Manhattan Tunnels and the Manhattan Structures, two of the major contracts for the East Side Access (ESA) Project in New York.This wealth of experience is applied to all new projects around the world. For North West Rail, Dragados moved their key experts to Australia to be part of the local design and construction teams from the start of the tender phase.

Media contact: Sue Netterfield 0400 556517 SNetterfield@thiess.com.au