Fulton Hogan has won a multi-million-dollar Dunedin road maintenance contract and will officially take over the work in May 2020.
All interested parties went through a rigorous tender process for the contract which has been held by Downer since 2016.
The 10-year contract is worth about $260 million and includes resealing of roads and footpaths, maintaining drains, culverts and mud tanks, street cleaning, fixing potholes, maintaining road signs, grading of unsealed roads, vegetation control and responding during emergencies.
“The work to be done by the contractor is important for a major asset of the city,” Dunedin City Council infrastructure services general manager Simon Drew says.
“We’re pleased to award the contract to a local company which will make a significant investment in machinery, equipment and staff in order to meet the demands and expectations of our community.
“While the contract is for 10 years, the [Dunedin City Council] retains the right to reduce the term of the contract if Fulton Hogan is not achieving its key objectives and agreed performance measures, however, we are confident they will provide an excellent service.
“During the process, we made it clear that awarding the contract was not simply about the money but that quality of service was also important,” Drew says.
Key factors of the contract include having support functions in place such as inspections, data capture and asset management, service delivery and what practices the company could incorporate to minimise the impact on the environment, upskill and train staff and, where applicable, involve local community groups and use local products, resources and materials.
“Fulton Hogan have provided good evidence that they understand our expectations and will deliver on them. The [council] values working with the right team and views it as a key success factor for the contract and we look forward to working with the Fulton Hogan team,” he says.
Fulton Hogan regional manager Grant Sime says the firm is “delighted” to get the deal and follows “a long and detailed tender process”.
“The significance is even deeper for us, given that Dunedin is the birthplace of Fulton Hogan and that, during the contract, we’ll be celebrating 90 years since Jules Fulton and Bob Hogan began our business here in Dunedin,” Sime says.
Dunedin City Council transport delivery manager Josh von Pein says while Downer lost the contract, he acknowledges the hard work they have done over the last four years.
“Downer have provided a good service for the city since 2016, including repairing roads after multiple large storms. Their service to the [council] and the city is to be commended.”
