Australia's leading design and construction geotechnical specialist Menard Oceania has completed integral ground improvement and foundation works for the $158 million Brisbane International Cruise Terminal, which is expected to be open by October 2020.

Menard Oceania, a specialist geotechnical contractor known for major projects such as Melbourne’s Webb Dock, Perth’s Optus Stadium and Brisbane’s New Parallel Runway, began undertaking ground improvement works for the new cruise ship terminal building and an operations yard in April this year.

At a glance: 

• Design and construction geotechnical specialist Menard Oceania recently completed ground improvement works for the $158 million Brisbane International Cruise Terminal.
• Menard Oceania, is a specialist geotechnical contractor known for major projects such as Melbourne’s Webb Dock, Perth’s Optus Stadium and Brisbane’s New Parallel Runway.
• The new purpose-built facility lays the foundation for accommodating vessels of all sizes - by next year 60% of cruise vessels expected to dock in Australia will be mega cruise ships.

The new facility, described as a ‘game-changer’ for the region’s economy, lays the foundation for visits by cruise vessels of all sizes. Currently, there isn’t a dedicated cruise facility in south-east Queensland capable of accommodating mega cruise ships which instead must dock at Brisbane’s main cargo port.

The need for a purpose-built terminal has been made even more pressing with vessels increasing in size. By next year, 60% of cruise vessels expected to dock in Australia will be mega cruise ships like the Symphony of the Seas which is three times the length of a rugby league field.

Geoffrey Holding, Manager for Menard Oceania Northern Region, says Menard, in conjunction with Head Contractor Hindmarsh Constructions Queensland, is excited to be working on the prestigious design and construct project and continuing the relationship Menard first formed with the Port of Brisbane in 2003.

“Our latest work for the Port is hugely exciting and our staff began mobilising to the site at Luggage Point in Pinkenba, in early April. One of the first challenges we had to overcome was the site’s proximity to the Brisbane River. It meant our design team had to model the lateral deformations along the seawall using Plaxis. Another challenge was designing a ground improvement solution for the lift cores which had relatively high lateral loads and overturning moments."

“On the operational front, we had a tight construction program and hence needed to ensure we had a diverse range of plant and equipment readily available to perform the ground improvement works in challenging site conditions. Our team, however, are geotechnical experts who understand the local geotechnical conditions and use innovative, sustainable and cost-effective techniques to transform poor soils into solid foundations. Given the unique nature of the site’s core foundations, we adopted an innovative approach to the foundation elements and designed a series of composite deep soil mixing columns (DSM) and controlled modulus columns (CMC) to best manage the loading conditions for optimum settlement control and building stability. This solution has provided substantial cost savings that couldn’t have been achieved with a conventional piling approach,” said Holding.

Adam Zakrzewski, Business Development Engineer of Menard Oceania Northern Region says Port of Brisbane’s brief was to provide a cost-effective solution for the ground improvement work to limit long-term settlements to less than 50mm and provide adequate capacity to withstand high lateral loads from a design seismic event.

Philippe Vincent, Managing Director at Menard Oceania says the Brisbane International Cruise Terminal is an iconic project that the entire team at Menard Oceania is proud to be part of. “With our unique design, we’re aiming to set a new benchmark of success for specialist ground improvement works in Australia and excited to be playing a part in supporting Queensland’s growing tourism economy by delivering this latest project for Port of Brisbane safely and on time.”

See also: 

Port of Brisbane announces principal contractors for its $158 million Brisbane International Cruise Terminal

Queensland Government partners with Cruise Whitsundays to build $8 million Reefworld pontoon

Brisbane Airport and Brisbane Marketing partnership to boost tourism