Northern Expressway Supply Chain Study (2009-2010)

Client

SA Government: Department for Transport Energy and Infrastructure

A need emerged to be better able to collect data in relation to employment, material/energy consumption and sustainability indicators relating to the project.

Project Description

The $564 million Northern Expressway Project consists of two components: the new Northern Expressway and the Port Wakefield Road Upgrade. The Northern Expressway will be a new 23 kilometre road with a pedestrian and cycle pathway linking the Gawler Bypass with Port Wakefield Road at a point about three kilometres north of the Waterloo Corner Road intersection. The Project, now approaching completion, has been the largest project undertaken by the Department for Transport, Energy and Infrastructure (DTEI) since the 1960s.

A need emerged to be better able to collect data in relation to employment, material/energy consumption and sustainability indicators relating to the project.

InfraPlan Involvement

DTEI engaged InfraPlan to conduct an independent review of the preliminary planning and construction supply chain. The study aimed to contribute qualitative and quantitative data to calibrate the employment analysis being undertaken on SA road construction projects for scrutiny by Infrastructure Australia, Cabinet and Treasury. Onsite meetings and workshops, spatial analysis of employees and suppliers as well as a preliminary survey have both been completed for 235 NEXY suppliers in the upper financial bands of the supply chain. Suppliers were asked questions in relation to employment, economic generation, sustainability credentials and material consumption.

The next stage of the study is currently underway and involves running in depth interviews with key suppliers to develop more robust and accurate employment multiplier rates for each construction field/theme for primary contractors. The face to face interviews will also collect quantitative data primarily on employment but also on economic generation, sustainability credentials and material consumption, where appropriate. The outputs of the study will help inform the development of a data collection system that will be applied to future road construction projects in SA.

Timeframe

The Northern Expressway Supply Chain Study commenced in June 2009 and was scheduled to be completed in March 2010.