SA Water has awarded a contract for the construction of the Kangaroo Creek Dam upgrade to a local contractor.
South Australian civil engineering and construction company, Bardavcol will soon begin construction on the $94million upgrade.
Water and the River Murray Minister, Ian Hunter, said the project will see the equivalent of up to 220 full time workers directly and indirectly employed on the project over the next three years.
“Kangaroo Creek Dam is a critical part of SA Water’s infrastructure and is situated in the Adelaide Hills above Adelaide’s north eastern metropolitan region,” Mr Hunter said.
The upgrade will widen the spillway and raise and strengthen the dam wall, which will help to better manage major floods and increase the dam’s ability to withstand earthquakes.
The dam embankment will be increased by approximately 5 metres and the spillway will be widened by 30 metres.
Bardavcol Managing Director, Darren Foster, said the company anticipated the induction of more than 1000 personnel onto the site to work on the various components.
“SA Water has shown faith in the local construction industry in recognising the benefits that local companies bring,” Mr Foster said.
On the back of this project, Bardavcol will take on four local graduate engineers and provide training.
Mr Foster said Bardavcol will also be purchasing $2.5million worth of new machinery as part of this project.
“This demonstrates the trickle-down effect of supporting local companies and this investment sustains and provides new jobs and is all spent locally in SA,” Mr Foster said.
The tender was conducted in line with the State Government’s Industry Participation Policy, which assists local businesses to win work on major Government projects.
