Construcciones Yamaro: DTI builds momentum across a diverse project pipeline
For DT Infrastructure (DTI), capability is not measured by project size but by delivering the right outcome for clients, regardless of scale.
Matthew Lennon has spent more than 25 years delivering complex transport and energy infrastructure. Now, three months into his role as general manager for Queensland and South Australia at DTI, he is applying that experience to a dynamic business as it expands across critical infrastructure markets.
His career has included senior roles with CPB Contractors, John Holland and Rio Tinto, and projects including WestConnex, Cross River Rail and CopperString 2032. It has given him experience spanning different sectors, project environments and approaches to delivery.
“What attracted me to DTI was the breadth of work it does across infrastructure delivery and renewables, along with the growth trajectory of the business,” says Lennon.
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His immediate priority is successful delivery of the projects DTI has secured over the past several months. That means supporting its skilled teams with the tools they need as the business continues to grow.
DTI’s growth is being driven by opportunities across several markets, with demand in renewable energy, rail, roads and defence infrastructure creating a strong pipeline of work. Its service offering and in-house expertise reinforce its credentials as an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) partner.
“Within DTI, we’ve built strong capability in procurement and engineering management, supported by people with successful project delivery experience across a range of sectors. We can bring those different disciplines together depending on what a project requires,” says Lennon.
“One of the differentiators for us is the capability we can draw on through our parent company Gamuda Berhad in Kuala Lumpur. That includes digital engineering, in-house design expertise and additional resources.”
That flexibility extends to the scale of work DTI is prepared to take on. The company’s award-winning Intelligent Transport Solutions (ITS) business, for example, provides design, installation, integration and maintenance of intelligent transport systems on projects ranging from $200,000 to $1.5 billion – including as part of the Warringah Freeway Upgrade and the Coffs Harbour Bypass. This gives DTI a specialist offering that can operate independently or form part of complex critical infrastructure programs.
“We’re prepared to pursue smaller projects where some competitors may be more focused on major contracts,” says Lennon. “We have an open-door approach to talking with clients about what they need, whether that leads to a small project or something much larger.”
Cross-sector capability
DTI’s current portfolio spans renewable energy, rail, road and defence projects across Australia – reflecting the range of work the business can deliver and the complex delivery challenges it can overcome.
For Lennon, the contrast between these projects is one of DTI’s strengths and was a key part of his decision to join the company.
“Whether it’s rail, renewables or critical infrastructure, we see ourselves as a reliable EPC contractor equipped to tackle a wide range of work,” he says.
This work includes major projects such as the Queensland Train Manufacturing Program (QTMP). DTI is designing and constructing the 66-hectare QTMP Ormeau rail facility, which will support Queensland’s new passenger train fleet. The project, being delivered in partnership with Downer, encompasses a 21,000sqm maintenance building, stabling and rail infrastructure, and sitewide services.
At the same time, DTI and CPB Contractors are working on Sydney’s Warringah Freeway Upgrade, delivering extensive road, bridge and interchange works across a 4km corridor while allowing more than 200,000 vehicles a day to continue using the network on one of Australia’s busiest road corridors.
In Central Queensland, DTI is delivering the Boulder Creek Wind Farm for Aula Energy, which will comprise 38 turbines with a generation capacity of 228MW. The company is responsible for civil, structural and electrical infrastructure including turbine foundations, 41km of access tracks, a 33/275kV substation and associated transmission infrastructure.
“When tackling projects of this scale, our approach is to undertake careful and methodical planning prior to work activities,” says Lennon. “Whether it’s managing complex traffic staging or undertaking early site investigations to optimise design solutions ahead of construction, we always keep the end goal clearly in our vision.”
This approach has not gone unnoticed by clients. DTI has since secured the full Balance of Plant scope for Aula Energy’s 256MW Carmody’s Hill Wind Farm in South Australia. Its early works program covered preliminary engineering, geotechnical studies, environmental assessments and technical investigations.
“Because Carmody’s Hill follows Boulder Creek, we can take lessons from the first project into the second,” says Lennon. “The terrain is quite different, but ultimately we’re building the same end product, so there is a lot we can carry from one project into the next.”
DTI’s renewable energy portfolio extends well beyond wind. The company has this year announced two major solar and battery hybrid projects in Central Queensland, which it is delivering for Edify Energy. The Smoky Creek and Guthrie’s Gap project near Rockhampton and the Ganymirra and Majors Creek project near Townsville represent some of the most ambitious solar power stations in Australia.
“We’re very excited to be partnering with Edify Energy to deliver more than a gigawatt of solar generation backed by significant battery energy storage systems,” says Lennon. “Being able to work on signature renewable projects like these is part of what makes DTI such an attractive proposition.”
Driving quality outcomes
Delivering projects of this scale and critical importance depends on selecting the right approach for the conditions at hand. Lennon says the scope of DTI’s portfolio does not translate to a single approach to delivery.
“The starting point is understanding where the client sees the major risks and interfaces, the timelines they’re working to and where we can help address those issues,” he says.
DTI’s experience across multiple sectors gives its teams a wider pool of lessons to draw from during those early discussions. Approaches that have worked elsewhere can be considered where they are relevant to the project.
The early contractor involvement (ECI) model has played an important role on several of DTI’s renewable energy projects. Early investigations and close engagement with suppliers and the broader supply chain can help identify and reduce risks before construction begins, giving the client greater certainty about how the project will be delivered.
“The ECI process gives us an opportunity to test and refine construction methodologies early and determine the most efficient approach for the project,” says Lennon. “Different projects have different drivers. Environmental requirements can influence the methodology, as can community impacts and other project constraints. ECI allows us to work through those issues and make those decisions with the client early in the process.”
Outside an ECI environment, DTI draws on specialist expertise from across the business, bringing together the people best placed to develop the most appropriate solution for the project.
Those subject matter experts are also brought directly into client discussions, allowing clients to see the thinking behind a proposed solution and the expertise that will support its delivery.
“Transparency is a big part of it,” says Lennon. “A developer and a contractor can look at the same issue through different lenses, so understanding both perspectives is important. Once you understand what the client needs, and the client understands the approach you’re taking, it creates a much better foundation for delivery.”
Building on momentum
That commitment to delivering well for clients will remain central as DTI builds on its position across critical infrastructure markets.
“We’ve been successful in renewables and that will continue to be an area of focus for us. We also want to continue building on our national rail footprint and the capability we have in that market,” says Lennon. “Queensland Rail is another priority for us, and we want to keep delivering well and strengthening that relationship.”
South Australia presents another avenue for growth, including renewables, projects with a rail interface and defence. DTI is looking to expand its defence work nationally, with major investment underway in South Australia and Western Australia.
“The other advantage we have is the ability to scale according to what a client needs,” says Lennon. “Procurement and contracting models are changing, and we’re already delivering projects under a range of models for different types of clients.”
He says DTI’s flexible structure enables it to deliver for a dynamic industry. Experience across sectors, project sizes and contracting models allows the business to adjust its delivery strategy to suit the client and the project.
For Lennon, that combination of adaptability, technical depth and experience positions DTI to keep growing without losing sight of the objective that underpins its work: delivering critical infrastructure well for its clients.
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