As part of the Mcmahon Leighton Joint Venture, Leighton Contractors was awarded a contract to develop BHP Billiton Iron Ore’s Rapid Growth Project 5 rail project (RGP5) in the Pilbara region of Western Australia.

Under the contract, BHP Billiton Iron Ore supplied materials to the project which the joint venture handled as part of the works. The 50/50 joint venture duplicated 220km of the existing heavy haul rail line between Port Hedland and Shaw Siding along the existing BHP Billiton Iron Ore Newman/Yandi line, providing BHP Billiton Iron Ore with a mechanism to meet the increasing overseas demand for iron ore.

The project scope also included the installation of 840km of fibre optic cable and the construction of 10 new dual track bridges, over 1,000 camp rooms (complete with kitchens, laundries, gymnasiums and a pool) and up to three fly camps. The joint venture employed more than 1,100 workers over the life of the project and encouraged a high level of indigenous participation.

The project was delivered by Leighton Contractors Western Region Construction and supported by the Leighton Contractors National Rail Group, Ngarda Civil & Mining and Visionstream (all subsidiaries of Leighton Contractors) together with MVM Rail, a subsidiary of Macmahon.