KBR Inc. has secured a four-year contract with South Australian Water Corp. (SA Water) to support the utility’s capital delivery program, one of the South Australian Government’s most significant infrastructure programs. The contract was awarded through a competitive tender.
The agreement extends KBR’s 15-year partnership with SA Water through 2030. The program is set to support SA Water’s largest-ever period of investment, with about A$3.3 billion in water infrastructure projects planned over the four-year period.
Contract scope
Under the contract, KBR will support delivery of critical water and wastewater infrastructure for SA Water’s 1.8 million customers across South Australia. The work covers dam upgrades, water tank refurbishments, bulk water transfer infrastructure, water main replacements, sewer network upgrades, and water and wastewater treatment plant upgrades.
The listed categories cover storage, conveyance, collection and treatment. Dam upgrades and tank refurbishments address storage, while bulk transfer infrastructure and water main replacements concern conveyance. Sewer network and treatment plant upgrades cover wastewater collection and processing.
Margaret Riley, KBR’s director of water, said the appointment reinforces KBR’s position as a trusted partner in the water sector. She said KBR has worked alongside SA Water for 15 years to design, deliver and project-manage critical water infrastructure, and that the contract demonstrates the team’s experience, technical capability and focus on safety, innovation and service excellence.
Recent delivery and future programs
KBR said its capital delivery team has managed more than 2,000 individual projects over the past year. Those included 69 kilometers of new water mains, a major upgrade of the 132-kilometer Tailem Bend to Keith pipeline, and a desalination plant for the outback town of Marree.
Over the next four years, major programs supported by KBR will include South Australia’s Housing Roadmap, which involves expanding water and wastewater networks to support an estimated 50,000 new homes across the state. The company will also support infrastructure delivery such as upgrades to the Morgan to Whyalla pipeline, South Australia’s longest water pipeline at 358 kilometers.
The prior projects and the forward program provide context for the new term. The 132-kilometer Tailem Bend to Keith pipeline and the Marree desalination plant illustrate the scale and geographic spread of work handled by the capital delivery team, while the planned Morgan to Whyalla pipeline work points to continued attention to long-distance water transfer.
The contract combines continuing project-management work with a broad asset base, from local mains and tanks to treatment plants and long-distance bulk water transfer. KBR’s role is to support SA Water’s delivery program across this asset base.