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Events ~ Events ~ Events ~ Events ~ Events
The NSW Major Projects conference was held from November 6 - 7 at the Sydney Exhibition Centre. The 250+ attendees discovered the progress on many major infrastructure projects such as Sydney Light Rail and North West Rail Link.
Guest speakers included Megan Motto, the CEO of Consult Australia and Chris Johnson, the CEO of the Urban Taskforce.
A full review of the conference from SMEC staff of view is located here.
For me the main things of interest were:
•The second harbour crossing is definitely going ahead after NWRL.
•The presenters thought it would be financially beneficial to add rail to the WCX project considering that the diggers are already out and causing traffic chaos
•The fact we recently won WCX EIS has definitely put us on the map – I constantly had people referring to this and saying congratulations (like I had something to do with it!)
•The speakers agreed that Sydney does not need a “hero” project, it needs all of our current networks to connect and communicate.
I found the conference very interesting, although some speakers who presented did not tell me something new - which is good in some regards as it means SMEC is staying on top of what's happening.
There was a great networking function held on the second day where I met over 12 people from various areas of the industry, aiming to improve future business connections.
Two weeks later...
AusRAIL Plus 2013 took place in Sydney and with a new Federal Government, significant rail projects being tendered or proposed in NSW and the reforms going on within Sydney Trains, there was plenty of interest in the event. Operators, owners, suppliers, constructors and consultants were represented from over 30 nations for the pre-eminent marketing opportunity in rail during the year.
Significant sessions included Ministerial and Opposition (Federal and State) addresses, Operator’s CEO forum on R&D, Supplier’s CEO Forum, Cost Management discussions, as well as railway technical, operational and industry environment presentations.
SMEC was represented with several staff either attending industry forums, industry seminars or technical presentations and numerous networking opportunities. Also, by attending one of the biggest ever rail trade exhibitions in Australia, there was the opportunity to remain contemporary with technological advances in the industry.
Sydney's $1.8 billion Light Rail Project drew industry leaders to the Major Projects Conference in Sydney
Major Projects
Julian Richards
Jeni Sutton