Case Study: Design & Construct HMAS Coonawarra New Wharf.

The New Wharf at HMAS Coonawarra in Darwin is designed to cater for a wide range of vessels and operational requirements. The wharf is 250m long by 25m wide and is designed to cater for cyclonic waves and climate change. The design development has been thorough, and at each stage identified and quantified critical elements in the design. This case study describes the final stage of the design process and execution of the construction works. Originally issued as a Construct Only contract, but with an option to bring a Design and Construct (D&C) solution, the Department of Defence and their Managing Contractor opened the door to a contractor to bring a cost effective and risk managed solution. McConnell Dowell and design partner Royal HaskoningDHV developed an optimized D&C offer which focused on identifying the key residual risks on the project and developing a solution to address them. These are summarized as follows: Reducing the concrete volume due to logistical challenges of local supply and local traffic considerations within the base. Reducing the thickness of concrete elements to minimize thermal issues. Controlling the design schedule to enable reliable fast track procurement of long lead items such as piles. Amending the design to align with the contractor's preferred construction methodology and equipment. This case study will discuss in detail how a D&C contract can be used as a mechanism by which to control project risks. How aligning contractual priorities such as reducing cost, can align with environmental priorities including reducing material usage, and with stakeholder priorities i.e. controlling schedule. Also included will be updates from the construction of the wharf with particular emphasis on some of the more challenging aspects of the construction. Construction is scheduled for completion by mid 2023. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]