Moorebank Intermodal Freight Terminal – Water and Sewer Infrastructure
Location: Moorebank, Sydney NSW
Value: $8 Million
Client: Georgiou
Commenced: January 2021
Completed: July 2022
Moorebank Intermodal is a quarantine and Customs Inspection and Clearing facility within the Moorebank Terminal Precinct, for the management and clearing of international freight. The facility is linked by rail to Port Botany and this allows incoming and departing freight to be directly loaded onto trains and transported between the facility and the port.
The Precinct also boasts in excess of 850,000 m2 of high specification warehousing for the post-clearance handling of the freight.
SCOPE:
RA Smith has been engaged by Georgiou to deliver a number of packages of works of varied scope within the Moorebank Terminal Precinct. With an initial contract value of slightly less than $2 million, this Scope was significantly varied to a final value of $13 million.
The Scopes included:
- Installation of primary Storm Water pipe network
- Installation of Hydraulic Services including potable water, sewer and fire system supplies
- Provision of Storm water drainage to proposed Warehouse Building ground slabs
- Provision of Utility services to proposed Warehouse locations
- Installation of Sewer systems and pumping equipment to manage facility waste water
Storm Water Drainage Installation
This contract involved the installation across the site of the primary storm water drainage network, with pipes ranging from 375mm diameter up to 1650mm diameter, and with installation to depths of 4.5 metres. These works were site-wide, and were allocated to 3 distinct areas of the site.
Stage 2 Site-Wide Hydraulic Services
These works included the provision of approximately:
- 5,400 linear metres of pressurised polyethylene (PE) potable water mains ranging from 32mm to 250mm diameter, and all associated valves and fittings
- Potable cold water service storage and booster pumps including 2 tanks and associated pumps, valving, etc.
- Permanent connection to Sydney Water Corporation main service immediately beyond the site boundary
- 4,180 linear metres of pressure sewer ranging from 65mm to 110mm diameter, with all associated valves, flushing points, connections, etc.
- 2,600 linear metres of 250mm diameter PE Fire Hydrant services and associated valves and fittings throughout Stage 2 of the precinct. Providing the service water connections for each of the future building stages, as well as incorporating fire hydrants throughout the site for fire-fighting purposes.
Warehouse Roof Storm Water Removal Infrastructure
These works included the supply and installation of the in-ground connections to primary storm water carrier pits for the future proposed building locations, into which the roof plumbing on future warehouses once installed can be connected to collect rainfall and manage its transfer to the on-site detention areas.
Warehouse Utility Infrastructure Provisions
As additional further scope, RA Smith was contacted to provide conduit infrastructure from the main utilities’ distribution point to each of the proposed building locations. These services included:
- Low voltage electrical
- Communication / fibre-optic provisions
- Gas services.
CHALLENGES
Much of the Scope of work for installation of in-ground services coincided with a period of extreme wet weather across the Sydney Metropolitan region. This created challenges as the initially installed storm water pipework, which connects for discharge into on-site retention ponds, was capped as the ponds had not been constructed.
This led to backing up and overflowing of this system causing significant flooding across areas of the site. RA Smith worked with Georgiou to minimise the impact on both the installed services, and the site more widely, to enable works for all contractors on site to be recommenced more quickly after significant rainfall events.
OUTCOMES
RA Smith performed their initial scope efficiently and demonstrated to their Client, Georgiou, their experience in the installation of in-ground utility services. This led Georgiou to award significant additional Scope for similar works, enabling RA Smith to continue on site providing comprehensive and co-ordinated utility installation across the whole of the Stage 2 works.
All aspects of the project were successfully completed through co-ordination with Georgiou and their other on-site contractors.
