Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis MP took a trip to Mt Eden as the VIP guest for the opening ceremony to mark the completion of the Mt Eden Corrections Facility (MECF) Building C.
This c.$100 million project, which has been under construction for about two and a half years, has involved the construction of approximately 200 remand and at-risk cells by Leighs Construction, on time and within budget.
From working on the project inception in 2016, Konrad Trankels has managed the project from business case implementation through to selecting Leighs to build the project and now to final account. The MECF project was in response to the growing demand for beds and was part of the overall Prison Capacity Portfolio (PCP) also including Waikeria Prison currently under construction.
Graham White says the successful delivery of the project is an outstanding team achievement within an operational prison environment and in a tough construction market.
“It has just been an exceptional project. In this market everyone is under so much pressure; resourcing projects is very difficult, so this is a shining example of what can happen when the right team comes together in the right way.”
“The relationships that have developed between the client, consultants, us and the construction team on this project are exceptional. Because the site compound included the client team and all consultants, as well as contractors, it created a genuinely collegial way of doing things, enabling the face-to-face conversations that made things so much clearer – and decisions made quicker. Brilliantly led by Simon Thomson (Works Lead), and Patrick Dowe (Senior Project Manager), the right people have all been involved: all the companies have put great people here, and the gelling of the team in one place has had enormous benefits.”
“I’m pleased that we were able to play our part along the way in terms of cost estimates, advice and options that helped to save money and chart the way forwards. If you want an example of a job that went really well, look at this one.”