Fletcher Morobe (the Papua New Guinea subsidiary of Fletcher Construction) engaged us to review the design prepared by a local structural engineer for the Grand Papua Hotel. We made changes to the structural wall and floor systems to ensure better and more reliable seismic performance.

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We designed a flat post-tensioned concrete floor – this had never before been attempted in PNG. The result was a flat floor that allows services to be easily run. We taught the local labour force the skills needed to construct this and the technique has been used by Fletcher Morobe on subsequent projects.

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This was our first project in PNG. As a result of our work on this, Fletcher Morobe engaged us on another five projects in the country.

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Benefits of having us on the team:

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• The building will withstand any earthquake that may hit PNG.

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• We have contributed towards upskilling the local labour force including the local engineering firm. We seconded one of their staff members to our office for 6 months to learn.

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• Construction was completed on time, partly due to our planning which ensured lead times for imported materials were taken into account and that we were confident about which materials were available locally.