Foleys director Chris Sutherland (left) is joined on the site of the new Dunedin hospital inpatient building by (from left) site manager Jamahl Cole, plumbing foreman Leon Watson and drainage foreman Gerald ‘‘Biggie’’ Duncan. PHOTO: GERARD O’BRIEN A Dunedin plumbing company has been awarded more than $50 million in work for the new hospital — the single biggest project in its 90-year history. Foleys, established in 1934, has been subcontracted to do the hydraulics and civil drainage services for the new Dunedin hospital inpatient building. ‘‘It’s very significant for us; it’s the biggest single project we’ve ever done,’’ director Chris Sutherland said. ‘‘The biggest job we’d done prior was $10m and this is more than five times that.’’ The economy had been pretty flat in Dunedin for the past two years, so to have this job security for staff and suppliers was really important, he said. ‘‘It gives Foleys a good five years of revenue, which is great when you’ve got a staff of 260.’’ The contract was under negotiation since September and was officially signed in April. Foleys was also previously awarded the contract for the plumbing and drainage aspects of the outpatient building. Mr Sutherland said resourcing would be a problem, but not a massive one. Foleys would have to grow its number of apprentices and trade staff by about 20% over the duration of the project, 60% of which was intended to be local. Its trade team would have to be double what it was for the outpatient building, but the company had been training apprentices for the past year in preparation for this. The firm was wrapping up work on the outpatient building and Mr Sutherland said he was feeling ‘‘really confident’’ coming off the back of it. ‘‘We know that we’ve got a real good basis of work for the next five years for Foleys in Dunedin.’’ CPB Contractors, the Australian construction giant contracted by Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora (HNZ) to build the inpatient building, had also been really good to deal with in the initial stages of the process, he said. ‘‘There’s only a few businesses in Dunedin big enough to be able to tackle a hospital. ‘‘We happen to be one of them, because we’re one of the largest plumbing companies in the country. ‘‘There’s no other sub-trade really, that could take on a whole hospital project.’’ CPB Contractors project manager Jason Tutty said the new Dunedin hospital would be ‘‘life changing’’ for the city and the wider South Island. ‘‘Working with HNZ, not only is CPB Contractors committed to delivering a world-class hospital for the people of Dunedin and Waitaki River south, we are also committed to ensuring the project’s economic and social benefits leave a legacy far beyond its construction. ‘‘With early works now under way, we are maximising local procurement and ramping up our engagement with businesses, with several major work packages already awarded to local subcontractors.’’ There are more than 100 subcontracting packages to be awarded and larger work packages are still in negotiation, with over a dozen allocated locally already, he said. Construction of the inpatient building would support approximately 900 fulltime equivalent jobs across the life cycle of delivery, not exceeding 500 at any one time. CPB Contractors would ramp up to about 100 workers early next year and was expected to reach 200 in late 2027. The 500-worker peak was not expected to be reached until mid-2028. While prioritising local employment was a focus for CPB Contractors and its subcontracting partners, workers would be recruited from other parts of New Zealand, particularly for steelwork, facade and mechanical work. The company would ensure overseas workers were available to bolster numbers. People in Dunedin could expect to see the steel frame for the inpatient building go up next month. tim.scott@odt.co.nz
