The Kimbe Port infrastructure renewal project in Papua New Guinea focuses on upgrading and partially replacing the existing wharf to support future port activities while delivering benefits to the local community through employment and engagement. The design also considers climate change impacts and aims to reduce long-term maintenance needs.
The Project is funded and delivered through a partnership between Australia and Papua New Guinea. Funding is primarily provided by the Australian Infrastructure Financing Facility for the Pacific (AIFFP), an Australian Government initiative, and our client is PNG Ports Corporation Limited, which owns and operates the port and is responsible for delivering the project.
Environmental and Social Initiatives include:
- Local Engagement, content and upskilling.
- Women in Construction
- HIV/AIDS & Gender Base Education Programs
Kimbe is a coastal town on the island of New Britain, within West New Britain Province, overlooking Kimbe Bay. It is known as a regional hub for the palm oil industry and for its rich marine environment, including coral reefs and biodiversity.
The project works include demolishing and replacing about 61 metres of the existing wharf, constructing a new 120-metre-long wharf supported by 31 piles across the East and West extensions, and installing two mooring dolphins and a land bollard. The upgraded facility will accommodate vessels up to 222 metres in length. Additional works involve constructing a rock revetment beneath the wharf for coastal protection, upgrading civil infrastructure such as pavements, drainage, electrical systems, and building repairs, and carrying out maintenance dredging using a barge and long-reach excavator to remove accumulated sediment and improve berth access.
As PMG has moved past the half way point of the project works, we look back on milestones to this point:
- 32 precast concrete elements (590T) fabricated in PMG’s marine facility in Townsville. These have been loaded onto PMG barges and delivered to site.
- Delivery of 49 new piles.
- 2 x concrete cap marine mooring dolphin structures completed.
- 1 x concrete cap land bollard structure completed.
- 1 x Temporary Berthing Dolphin and steel cap structure completed.
- Demolition ahead of extensions substantially complete using core drilling, diamond cutting and hydraulic UW pile shears.
- East Wharf Extension in progress with 6 x piles driven to depths between -60 to -70m LAT and underwater rock revetment complete.
- Progressive completion of remediation and repair works to existing structures.
- Seawall rock replenishment in progress.
Equipment
We have mobilized 3 x of our 180ft barges to site, and our 180T and 280T crawler cranes, as well as our newly purchased 90T long reach excavator. Specialist supporting gear mobilized to site includes a number of piling hammers, purpose built temporary piling frame and an underwater hydraulic pile cutter.
- RMD Formwork Systems and complimentary falseworks steelwork.
- Mobile batching plant with 3 additive input lines for specialised concrete production supported by chilled water system to combat hot and humid conditions.
- Marine support via PDC with harbour tug and 2 x 180ft dredging barges.
Local Subcontractors
- Pacific Development Contractors (Civils, Concreting & Marine Support)
- Savcor ART (Remediation Specialists)
- Rabaul Metal Industries (RMI) providing local fabrication and site welding support
- McKibben Associates survey support
- ARGO Marine providing in country customs clearance and hydrographic survey support.
- Pacific Towing providing commercial dive services.
- Touchstone NDT completing pile splice weld testing.
Local employment opportunities
- PMG core PNG operations comprising of Environment, Health & Safety Officer leading administration team of 2 focused on safeguards and HSE.
- 2 x Graduate Engineers through PBI (Lae)
- PNG National Welder, Mechanics, Leading Hands for Steelfixing and Formwork, Specialist dredging equipment operators
Australian Subcontractors
- STU Construction precast production
- Vision Surveys specialised piling and hydrographic support and local surveyor mentoring/training
- Townsville Concrete Sawing & Core Drilling marine concrete deck demolition and specialist equipment
- Sitech dredging and revetment modelling, systems commissioning and support.
Consultants
- Shoreline Civil and Marine Consulting, providing structure redesign, mooring analysis and temporary berthing dolphin structure designs
- Blacksquare providing false works designs
- Glynn Tucker providing modelling for falseworks and reinforcing.
- Madsen Giersing providing construction load assessments for existing structures.
Work coming up in the next 6 months:
- Completion of East Extension
- West Demolition
- Ground stabilization with stone columns installation by Menard Oceania
- West Extension.
11-15 Sandspit Drive
South Townsville 4810,
Queensland, Australia
P. +61 7 4724 2200
F. +61 7 4724 2208
