Gamuda achieves top marks with ‘Leading’ Infrastructure Sustainability Design Rating
The Sydney Metro West – Western Tunnelling Package has achieved a ‘Leading’ Infrastructure Sustainability (IS) Design Rating score of 96.8 out of a possible 110 by the Infrastructure Sustainability Council (ISC).
IS Ratings are calculated by assessing sustainability elements including environmental management, stakeholder participation, climate change resilience, community health and wellbeing. The rating is out of 100 points but has 10 extra points available for sustainability innovations, of which the Sydney Metro West – Western Tunnelling Package received full marks.
Ewan Yee, CEO, Gamuda Australia says: “This achievement holds significant weight for Gamuda. The Sydney Metro West – Western Tunnelling Package is Gamuda’s first major project in Australia, and we set out to do things right from day one. To achieve a Leading score demonstrates our ability to work collaboratively with our partners and client to deliver industry transformative innovations that leave a positive legacy. Achieving this outstanding result would not be possible without the hard work and of the project delivery team, who I would like to thank for their efforts and exceptional performance.”
Key industry-leading innovations and sustainability initiatives on the Sydney Metro West – Western Tunnelling Package include:
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- Significant energy savings from autonomous Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs). Gamuda’s TBMs on the Sydney Metro West – Western Tunnelling Package are the first autonomous TBMs to be used in Australia, and a comparative study on the Western Tunnelling Package between manual and A-TBMs revealed improved steering accuracy, increased productivity, and substantial energy savings of 8%.
TBMs Betty and Dorothy are the first autonomous TBMs to be used in Australia. - An industry leading precast segment mix developed in collaboration with Boral, with 50% supplementary cementitious material (SCM), in use at the Sydney Metro West Eastern Creek precast facility, will save approx. 12,000 tCo2eq on the Sydney Metro West – Western Tunnelling Package.
The Sydney Metro West – Western Tunnelling Package’s low-carbon precast tunnelling segment mix is industry-leading. - NSW-first use of recycled water for TBM operations. The Rosehill Water Treatment Plant treats rainwater and groundwater inflows, reusing them for tunnelling operations. In an NSW-first initiative, the Sydney Metro West – Western Tunnelling Package has already conserved over 120,000kL of potable water through the reuse of non-potable (treated) water for TBM operations.
The Rosehill Water Treatment Plant on the Sydney Metro West – Western Tunnelling Package is a NSW-first re-use of non-potable water for TBM operations. - Rapidly deployable solar hybrid generators powering the NSW-first Tunnelling and Infrastructure Academy, located at the Sydney Metro West Clyde site. This has never been seen before at this scale in Australia.
- Significant energy savings from autonomous Tunnel Boring Machines (TBMs). Gamuda’s TBMs on the Sydney Metro West – Western Tunnelling Package are the first autonomous TBMs to be used in Australia, and a comparative study on the Western Tunnelling Package between manual and A-TBMs revealed improved steering accuracy, increased productivity, and substantial energy savings of 8%.
The Gamuda and Laing O’Rourke Consortium is delivering the Sydney Metro West – Western Tunnelling Package. The project involves nine kilometres of twin metro rail tunnels between Westmead and Sydney Olympic Park, excavation for two new metro stations, a stabling and maintenance facility at Clyde and a precast facility at Eastern Creek.
About the IS Rating Scheme
The IS Design and As-Built rating helps identify and deliver economic, social and environmental opportunities and benefits in the design and construction phases of a project, making benefits easier to deliver efficiently. It also recognises the sustainability results project teams are achieving. The rating can be applied on every infrastructure asset class and considers the full asset lifecycle, including operation and decommissioning.
About the Infrastructure Sustainability Council (ISC)
The Infrastructure Sustainability Council is a member-based, purpose-led organisation working in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand to enable sustainability outcomes in infrastructure.