Alstom tram bid has Ballarat Railway Workshops ready to roll

If ALSTOM is successful in a bid to build 50 trams then it will be full steam ahead at the Ballarat Railway Workshops.

Alstom is one of two candidates that has been short-listed to design and build a fleet of low-floor trams for Melbourne. The State Government has committed $1 billion towards the project, along with the redevelopment of the Preston workshops, as part of the Victorian Transport Plan.

In Australia, Alstom is partners with United Group, which owns Ballarat Railway Workshops. If it gets the contract, it is believed a significant portion of the work will take place in Ballarat due to a 25 per cent local-content requirement.

"This local content provision is expected to create at least 150 direct jobs in Victoria," Industry and Trade Minister Martin Pakula said. He said 10 per cent of the selection criteria directly related to local content. The other company in the running for the contract is Bombardier, from Canada.

Public Transport Minister Lynne Kosky said both would be invited to tender before the end of the year. "Alstom and Bombardier are internationally regarded in providing high quality and efficient tram vehicles," she said.

"And with Melbourne having the largest tram network in the world, I believe both companies will submit world-class tenders to provide the best value and vehicles for the travelling public." The first of the new trams is expected to be in service in 2012. BRW is also involved in a contract for 38 X'Trapolis trains.

Initially, the bodies of the six-car trains are being built in Poland and then the insides fitted out in Ballarat. It is believed that further down the track, they will be fully assembled in Ballarat from parts. The trains will be progressively rolled out until 2012.

www.thecourier.com.au

Insurer QBE wins the tender for SNCF's General Public Liability

In winning the tender for SNCF, France’s national rail operator, QBE has made a noteworthy entrance into the French market for corporate accounts. The insurer QBE won the public tender for SNCF’s General Liability Insurance scheme, to take effect from 1 October 2009, making it the lead insurer on the layer excess of over €150m.

The insurer has significant means at its disposal as a result of its strong presence in the UK. Indeed with €100m of guarantor capacity for this insurance programme, with layers up to €500m, QBE is sending a strong signal about its will and ability to be a part of the French market and its blue chip accounts.

This success was facilitated by the presence of QBE in Property Insurance, as much in the corporate business market, as on the accounts of SNCF, a customer of the insurer since 2005.

About QBE: The leading Australian « non life » insurance group, QBE is one of the 15 top insurance and reinsurance groups in the world. Registered on the Sydney stock exchange, the insurer operates in 45 countries with more than 13,000 employees. QBE is involved in all areas of insurance and reinsurance with a premium volume of 6.7 billion Euros, 40% of which is in Europe, where the group has been established since 1904.

In 2008, amidst the extremely difficult financial context, the QBE group maintained a net profit after imports almost identical (-3.5%) to €948m, all the while strengthening its balance sheet.

In the first semester of 2009, the key indicators of QBE remain very stable by insurance standards (+ 22% in gross premiums; + 21% in earned net premiums). The financial results of the group continue to be greater than those of the majority of its competitors (+ 19% vs the first semester of 2008).

Established in Paris since 1997, the French branch of QBE has more than doubled in size in the last five years.

Translated from an article published by Sylvie Baudard on 18 September 2009. To read the article in French, click here.

Work starts on victoria's desalination plant

Construction has started on Victoria’s Desalination Project near Wonthaggi, which will provide up to 150 billion litres of water each year to Melbourne from the end of 2011. More than 65 jobs have been created onsite already as part of the earthworks and AquaSure expects to have 200 people working on site by Christmas.

Water Minister Tim Holding, who today inspected works at the plant site near Wonthaggi, said the project will secure water supplies for Melbourne, Geelong and towns in Western Port and South Gippsland. “By turning sea water into drinking water we will ensure that we have enough water during severe droughts and as our climate changes,” Mr Holding said.

“The start of construction on Australia’s largest desalination plant is a vital step in delivering our water plan which includes the Sugarloaf Pipeline, the $2 billion investment in irrigation upgrades and key regional water projects.”

“Despite the recent rainfall Melbourne’s water storages are only at 34.2 per cent which is why we need a reliable, non-rainfall dependent source of water – this is why we are building the desalination plant.”

AquaSure, consisting of Suez Environnement, Degremont, Thiess and Macquarie Capital Group, was awarded the tender for the project in July. This includes construction and operation of the desalination plant, an 84-kilometre transfer pipeline, plus the construction of underground power and sourcing renewable energy.

Morwell based company RTL has been awarded a $10 million contract to undertake the majority of earthworks on site. Around 1.1 million cubic metres of earth will be excavated – using five heavy excavators, 13 dump trucks and a number of dozers, graders and rollers.

Mr Holding said earthworks started following the approval of an Environment Management Plan and certification by the Independent Reviewer and Environmental Auditor. “These initial works include excavation of the plant building site and new wetlands, construction of access roads and hardstand areas,” he said.

“The ‘spoil’ that is being excavated will remain on site to create a series of dunes to act as sound and visual barriers during construction and operation of the project.” Mr Holding said works were being fast-tracked to ensure the project is completed on time. More works will begin soon including:

•   Construction on the pipeline later this year; and
•   Tunnelling for the intake and outlet pipes in mid 2010.

Mr Holding said around 1700 direct jobs and as many as 3050 indirect jobs will be created during construction in a tough global economy.

“The project will provide employment opportunities for local people. There will be several waves of recruitment in coming months with jobs to be advertised for trades including concreters, steel-fixers and form workers and labouring positions,” he said.

People interested in working on the project can register as a supplier, or apply for individual positions, through the AquaSure website www.aquasure.com.au.

www.premier.vic.gov.au

Water recycling downunder

Engineering company GHD and the Australian arm of French company Veolia Water are industry partners in the successful bid to establish Australia’s National Centre of Excellence in Water Recycling.

Australia’s minister for climate change and water, Senator Penny Wong, has announced that the bid led by Western Corridor Recycled Water Pty, subsidiary of Queensland Government agency WaterSecure, will receive A$20m (S16.5m) over five years to host the centre in Brisbane.

Research institutions involved in the project are Brisbane’s University of Queensland,  Griffith University, Sydney’s University of New South Wales, and the CSIRO.

Senator Wong said the centre would help develop and commercialise new water recycling technologies.

The announcement came as an unrelated study reported that the health status of residents in an area of western Sydney serviced by recycled water is the same as that of residents in nearby conventional water supply areas. 

The study by the Hawkesbury-Hills Division of General Practice and Monash University examined almost 36,000 patient records covering a two-year period from 11 local doctors’ surgeries to measure how commonly patients presented with acute gastroenteritis, skin complaints or respiratory conditions which are plausibly related to exposure to pathogens or bacterial toxins in recycled water.

“This is the first study of its kind in Australia or internationally to measure the health impacts of living in housing served by a dual reticulation recycled water scheme,” Hawkesbury-Hills Division of General Practice ceo, Darren Carr says.

The Rouse Hill Recycled Water Scheme has been in place for eight years. It is Australia's largest residential recycled water scheme with more than 18,000 homes using up to 1.4b l of recycled water each year for flushing toilets, watering gardens, washing cars and other outdoor uses.

www.environment.gov.au

Sydney Metro's future operator is shortlisted

NSW Minister for Transport David Campbell has announced that two bids have been shortlisted, in the process to determine who will operate the Sydney Metro stage 1, Central to Rozelle.

Mr Campbell said the two bids, made up of major national and international companies, will now compete to supply the trains, track, station fit-out, operation and maintenance for Australia’s first metro system.

The shortlisted bids are:

• Kujika (Keolis Australia Pty Ltd, Downer EDI Rail Pty Ltd, Thales Australia Ltd, Bovis Lend Lease Pty Ltd, McConnell Dowell Constructors (Aust) Pty Ltd)

• Met One

“The contract will be awarded to the successful consortium in late 2010,” Mr Campbell said.
“Sydney Metro Stage 1 will be a fast, frequent, clean and efficient mass transit system, with trains arriving every 2-3 minutes in the morning and evening peaks.

“Stage 1, is part of a greater metro network, which will extend first from Central to Westmead and then to areas including the North West and South East as funding becomes available.
“It will deliver vital extra transport capacity in the CBD, easing the pressure on our heavy rail and buses.

“The shortlist for the IMO contract is another important milestone in the Metro project, which has been achieved on schedule. “While the Government has the capacity to fully fund Sydney Metro Stage 1, IMO bidders will also be asked to propose options for private sector financing of the operations contract.

“Private funding has the ability to drive greater efficiencies and better customer outcomes.”

Mr Campbell said the IMO contract would involve the fit out of all six stations at Central, Town Hall, Martin Place, Wynyard-Barangaroo, Rozelle and Pyrmont.

The IMO contract also includes:
• Safety, management and operating systems
• Provision of metro trains and control systems
• Track, stabling and maintenance facilities
• Mechanical and electrical systems including high voltage power supply
• Control, monitoring, communications and security systems
• Integration, testing and commissioning of the Metro.

The Environmental Assessment (EA) for Sydney Metro Stage 1 is on display until 12 October.
The EA can be viewed at either the Department of Planning website or via www.sydneymetro.nsw.gov.au.

Félicitations à Will Studd, recipient of the Officier du Mérite Agricole award

Will Studd began importing French cheeses into Australia in 1983. His first company, Butterfields Cheese Factors, gave Australians their first taste of some fine French cheeses never previously imported to the country. When Butterfields merged with the King Island Dairy in 1993, Will established William Wild, the company known today as Fromagent, working with major French Cheese companies and developing the Australian market for a wide range of French specialty cheeses.

Encouraged by the overwhelming growth of cheese producers in Australia, Will founded the Australian Specialist Cheesemakers’ Association in 1994, to represent the interests of small Australian specialist cheesemakers and to push for their right to make and sell raw-milk cheeses in Australia.

In 1995 Will established the Calendar Cheese Company, a wholesale cheese distribution company and the only one in Australia to import a comprehensive range of fresh specialist cheeses from France. Since 1999 the company has a container shipment of cheese from France brought to Australia once a week.

In recognition of his relentless commitment to the appreciation of specialty cheeses in Australia, Will has received many Industry Awards including, from the French, the title of Compagnon of the Confrérie du Fromage de Chèvre for Chabichou and Pouligny St Pierre and of Officier of the Confrérie des Chevaliers du Taste-Fromage de France.

In 2000, Will was made an Ambassadeur – Maître Fromager by the Guilde des Fromagers. His book “Chalk and Cheese”, published in 1999, was awarded Best Cheese Book in the World at the Périgueux book Fair in 2000 and also won the Michelin Silver Ladle as Best Food Book at the World Media Awards. In 2007 he published “Cheese slices”, which has since been made into a successful and mouth-watering TV series.

For his persistence in crusading for the right of Australian cheese lovers to enjoy French traditional raw-milk cheese – and in particular Roquefort, Will was awarded the distinction of Chevalier du Mérite Agricole in 2002.

In September 2007, Roquefort cheese was finally allowed into Australia after bilateral negotiations that spanned more than a decade. The final technical details of the agreement were signed off in December 2008 in Paris by the French Minister of Food and Agriculture and by the Australian Ambassador in France. Will’s contribution was instrumental in bringing about this agreement.

Will has been a member of FACCI for over 15 years, and has been a great supporter of many of our events and it is thanks to him that FACCI was able to start a Cheese Club for its members five years ago. He was one of the recipients of the inaugural FACCI French Flair Award in 2000.

FACCI extends its warmest congratulations to Will Studd on a well deserved mark of recognition.