Entries are open for the annual Civil Contractors New Zealand Hirepool Construction Excellence Awards, which have recognised outstanding projects and maintenance initiatives from New Zealand’s civil construction industry since 1978.

The awards are recognised as the civil construction and infrastructure industry’s top honours. They include an extensive assessment process that sometimes sees the judges travel as far as the Chatham Islands to assess the quality of projects and outcomes.

CCNZ Chief Executive Alan Pollard said the awards recognised the people, projects and companies who made a positive difference in the lives of New Zealanders every day by constructing and maintaining infrastructure to supply clean water and connect communities.

Companies that have delivered outstanding civil construction and infrastructure initiatives of all sizes were encouraged to enter these prestigious awards, Mr Pollard said.

"I have seen amazing projects and maintenance works the length of the country, from disaster recovery to major highways and tunnels, to water treatment plants and pipeline networks, ports and airports. As an industry, we can rightly be proud of breadth and quality of the projects that have been undertaken.”

This year’s awards follow on from the 2022 awards, which featured entries for projects across 6 categories, chosen from 46 finalists. Winners ranged from the spectacular Specularite Gully (Hugo) Bridge constructed by Abseil Access, an amazing suspension cycle bridge delivered for just $200,000 to a tunnelling project that involved lifting the14,000t historic Auckland Central Post Office as part of City Rail Link and won the category for projects with a value above $100m.

Hirepool has sponsored the awards since 2009 as CCNZ’s Principal Business Partner. General Manager Sales and Marketing Gary Richardson said it was an honour to support the teams working to construct and maintain NZ’s infrastructure, who deserved recognition for putting in the hard yards to get the job done.

“I love seeing what this recognition means for the hardworking people who are out there building our roads, bridges and water systems” Mr Richardson said.

“It’s really satisfying to be able to give hardworking civil construction professionals a small part of the recognition they deserve for the work they put in building and maintaining New Zealand’s infrastructure.”

Winners of the awards receive a hand-crafted Toki to represent the skill and craft they put into their work. Winning projects and finalists have also been recognised in an Awards Book cataloguing their achievements since 2015.

The 2023 awards will be presented at the Hirepool Construction Excellence Awards Dinner, which will be held on Friday 1 September at the Cordis Hotel in Auckland as part of The Civil Contractors Conference - the national conference for civil construction in New Zealand.

Entries for the 2023 CCNZ Hirepool Construction Excellence Awards can be made online at www.civilcontractors.co.nz until 23 June.

Cover image: 2023 Category 4 Award winners CB Civil working on the Peacocke Northern Transfer Mains