Deputy PM announces new $67m Holcim rail contract
Humes Tamworth will become one of the biggest industrial producers in the region and grow its team with an additional 30 local employees after winning a $67 million contract extension to build culverts for the Narrabri to North Star section of the $14 billion Inland Rail Project.
On Thursday 8 July, the contract extension was announced at a media conference held on site at Humes Tamworth, attended by Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce and Humes EGM, Guido DeWilde.
The Narrabri to North Star (N2NS) section of Inland Rail is truly a national project with the 5,100 culverts from Tamworth to be used alongside 116,396 concrete sleepers from Mittagong, 224,939 sleepers from Wagga Wagga and 2,474 165-metre long lengths of steel from Whyalla in South Australia as the Australian Rail Track Corporation (ARTC) continues to foster relationships with Australian companies.
Holcim Australia and New Zealand CEO George Agriogiannis said innovation and sustainability underpin delivery for Inland Rail.
“Holcim has already delivered more than 22,000 tonnes of carbon neutral culverts for Inland Rail, saving more than 7,000 tonnes of carbon emissions, equivalent to removing 1,350 vehicles from the road for one year. The new $67 million contract announced by Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister, includes 9,400 products ranging from precast concrete culverts to drainage pipes, weighing more than 70,000 tonnes. Over 19 months, most of these products will be manufactured in regional NSW, supporting local jobs.”
Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce said the rail scheme is an “iconic project” and a piece of “nation-building infrastructure” and getting the job done fast will prove to competitors like China Australia’s resolve to be “doers”.
“We have the capacity to be respected because people can see that we’re doers that can get things done, and that we are strong in our own right,” he said.
Further strengthening Hume’s position as a leader in sustainable manufacturing, Guido DeWilde said that, “ECOPact, our low carbon concrete, will be used to produce 9,400 concrete products for the rail scheme. Including carbon offsets, the concrete production will be carbon-neutral.”
Once finished, Inland Rail will connect Melbourne and Brisbane via regional Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland. The 1,700km rail project will complete our national freight network - better connecting producers to markets and creating new opportunities for businesses, industries and regional communities.
