Australian Hearing Hub project awarded to Watpac
Announcement posted by Watpac Limited 03 Nov 2010
Watpac’s Construction division has been appointed under the Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) process in the first step toward formal commencement of the construction of the new $75m Australian Hearing Hub to be built at Macquarie University in Sydney (perspective pictured right).
The appointment of Watpac Construction comes as it recently completed the Cochlear Global Headquarters project, also located at Macquarie University, on time and on budget.
The Hearing Hub will be a unique, world-class facility purpose-designed for research into hearing and related speech and language disorders.
It will bring together research teams from the University, and potentially major government research organisations, along with teams from Cochlear and major related not-for-profit organisations.
The Australian Hearing Hub will also provide additional teaching and learning scope for students in Hearing, Audiology and Language sciences.
The six-storey building will feature approximately 20,000m2 of net lettable space, and two levels of basement car parking catering for over 300 vehicles.
The precinct will also include approximately 2,000m2 of shared space, which will feature specialist anechoic (‘no echo’) chamber, a 150-seat lecture theatre, and a Magneto Encephalograph (MEG) facility, which will require the relocation of two existing MEG machines from within the University and the installation of a third.
Other shared facilities will include meeting and conference rooms, information technology spaces, teaching rooms, a library and a caf.
Watpac has been invited to participate in the ECI process under a Construction Management model, to assist the University in establishing the design parameters for the project. The construction contract is expected to begin following the successful completion of the ECI process.
Greg Kempton, Watpac Managing Director, said the Company was extremely pleased to be appointed to the project team.
“Being involved in such a prestigious project as the Australian Hearing Hub by Macquarie University shows our clients have great confidence in Watpac’s ability to successfully complete ground-breaking, technically challenging works,” Mr Kempton said.
“We are delighted to be able to bring the vision of the Australian Hearing Hub to life, which will provide much-needed resources in the fields of audiology and speech research.
“We are looking forward to beginning work on site soon and to continuing to work closely with Macquarie University to develop their emerging hearing precinct.”
Note to editors:
Watpac is an ASX-listed company specialising in construction, civil engineering and mining, specialty services (including refurbishments), and property development. We have offices in Brisbane, Townsville, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth. More information can be found at www.watpac.com.au.