The Bumbu Police Barracks
PlanPac Group collaborates with the Australian Government on a number of aid projects in the Pacific, working with the AFP and Papua New Guinean Government to deliver redevelopment projects.
“The government supports Papua New Guinea with the development of new infrastructure,” Anthony explains.
“PlanPac was brought on as Project Manager for the Bumbu Police Barracks project, managing everything from design to construction delivery.
The barracks are based in Lae, which is the second largest city in Papua New Guinea and is like the industrial centre of the country that connects up to the highlands, so a lot of shipping and logistics go through there.”
The Bumbu Police Barracks project was specifically aimed to upgrade the training centre and facilities within the barracks.
“There were some really rundown buildings, as well as some new buildings and road and civil infrastructure needed at the project,” Anthony explains.
Turning to a long-term partner
Having worked with CWD for more than six years, PlanPac knew who to call for civil engineering services.
“We’ve been working with CWD for a long time,” Anthony explains.
“We engaged Jeremy and the team at CWD to manage the civil engineering side of the project, so design and documentation for the upgrade of an existing road at the barracks, which was around 700 to 900 metres.
It involved producing multiple options for the road, which included a cost-effective option, which was just a grade and natural feel of the existing road.
And then there was a more thorough option to fully seal and bitumen the entire road, which included all drainage, curb and channel.”
CWD benefited the project because they had a lot of local knowledge from the civil side of it,” Anthony says.
“They understood the conditions of the site and also the capacity of local contractors.”
Managing project challenges
In Anthony’s view, one of the greatest benefits that CWD brings to projects is their ability to manage project challenges and find effective solutions.
“There were some very tight budgets on this project, from both the client side and our side, and CWD was great at value engineering to get all the road infrastructure within budget.
The other major challenge was that Bumbu was an operational barracks,” Anthony explains.
“In terms of traffic management and the staging of the infrastructure upgrade, CWD was really thorough with their documentation, which laid out exactly how everything needed to be staged for the local contractors and to maintain access to all the local facilities.
It was because of this that we were able to ensure the barracks and the entrance, as well as the vehicle circulation within the barracks could be maintained throughout the whole construction process, which lasted for about a year.
While it was quite disruptive to the barracks, we were able to ensure that the vehicle circulation and access were maintained the entire time.”
Working relationship
We asked Anthony about the more intangible aspects of working with CWD.
“One of the most positive parts of working with CWD is that they are very easy and approachable,” Anthony says.
“Nothing is ever a hassle or a drama. They understand the challenges that we have working in Papua New Guinea, and they don’t get caught up in those challenges or try variations of things that aren’t going to work there.
And they’re just very easy to work with on a day-to-day basis.
And then there’s obviously the technical side, too. The quality of their design and documentation definitely exceeds expectations and is some of the best.
CWD offers a really valuable service.”
Aligned in values
“I think CWD and PlanPac are really aligned in their values, which makes working with them easy,” Anthony says.
“Papua New Guinea is a developing country and the projects we do to upgrade their infrastructure really improve living conditions and benefit the local community.
Jeremy from CWD really aligns with those types of projects and seizes the opportunity to contribute.”
Partner with CWD Group for excellence in Civil Engineering
If you need a highly skilled and experienced civil engineer to consult on your project on a temporary basis, CWD Group can help.
We frequently take on projects involving sewer and water connections or offer support on civil projects where assessing possible environmental impacts is a critical step. To find out how we can support your development project, contact us today.
