BESIX Watpac First Anniversary

In a long list of recent project wins, Sydney Metro awarded BESIX Watpac the contract to deliver Barangaroo Station in the Sydney CBD, Christchurch City Council engaged the BESIX Watpac-led Kōtui team to deliver the Canterbury Multi-Use Arena and the company was appointed as Managing Contractor for the upgrade of the HMAS Cairns naval base. There are many other projects ongoing in Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia and more prospects in the pipeline for which the company has been shortlisted.

Brisbane’s success in securing the 2032 Olympic Games will add to the growth potential for BESIX Watpac and plays to its strength in delivering stadiums and major venues. The company has already delivered most of the major stadiums in Queensland and it will be well placed to bid for the redevelopment of the legendary Gabba (Brisbane Cricket Ground).

BESIX Watpac has intimate knowledge of The Gabba having delivered the major redevelopment two decades ago and several upgrades since, including the refresh completed in time for the historic 2020 AFL Grand Final.

But the opportunities for Brisbane 2032 go beyond stadiums and venues. The Olympics will require significant upgrades to transport infrastructure, potentially including upgrades to passenger terminals at Brisbane Airport, all of which fall into BESIX Watpac’s capability sweet spot.

The constant pipeline of new health infrastructure across Australia will also continue to be a key focus as state governments face rising demand for health services and the need for new and more advanced hospitals in population growth centres.

“There is a deep and longstanding expertise within BESIX Watpac in hospitals and health related facilities and therefore this sector will continue to be a critical component of our long-term strategy,” Jean-Pol said.

He believes the key to success for the company’s strategic direction comes down to following its core values of Excellence, Co-Creation, Respect, Passion and Unity.

“A lot of companies talk about their values but in our case, they are central to our success. Observing them helps ensure we select the projects where we can partner with the client in the spirit of Co-Creation and apply our Passion and engineering expertise to add value and de-risk their project. Respect and Unity are central to our relationship with our client, our staff, subcontractors, and the community, and all of this comes together to achieve Excellence in safety, delivery and quality. That’s what success looks like to me,” Jean-Pol said.

BESIX Watpac is also committed to sharing its success with the community through an increasing focus on social procurement and Indigenous engagement. While all new projects come with an Indigenous engagement target and a strong emphasis on local procurement, there are plans to do more.

“To me this is all about respect and I know we can and will achieve more in these areas,” Jean-Pol said.

The BESIX Watpac brand has come a long way in just 12 short months and to have achieved its success despite the global pandemic has been quite exceptional.

Early next year, BESIX Watpac will move into its distinctive new Brisbane headquarters, a complex steel exoskeleton building it is delivering for developer, JGL Properties. It will be a striking new feature in Brisbane’s rejuvenated Fortitude Valley and a symbol of what BESIX Watpac brings to the market.

“This project is a landmark for the new BESIX Watpac because it’s complex, logistically challenging and engineering-led. I think our entire team across Australia and New Zealand should be very proud of where our brand stands today and I’m really excited about what we can achieve together over the next few years”.