Client  Ministry Foreign Affairs & Trade (MFAT) Location  Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Niue, Samoa, Tonga, Papua New Guinea, and Fiji Contract  Early Contractor Involvement

Fast Facts New chanceries, staff homes, and infrastructure upgrades in Samoa and Tonga Five new staff homes in Honiara, Solomon Islands   Two new staff homes in Tarawa, Kiribati    One home in Niue   A new chancery in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea and  A new chancery and official residence in Suva, Fiji.

McConnell Dowell was awarded the Early Contractor Involvement (ECI) contract by New Zealand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT) for construction in November 2022. The Pacific Property System Project (PPSP) scope to construct accommodation and infrastructure assets across the Pacific will ensure properties are fit for purpose and can continue to support the government’s important work in the region. 

The complex project includes delivering civil and vertical construction upgrades across seven Pacific Island nations including the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Kiribati, Niue, Samoa, Fiji, and Tonga. 

During the ECI stage the project team, which includes key asset management staff from MFAT, designers GHD, Design Group Stapleton Elliot (DGSE), and McConnell Dowell, will engage with stakeholders to identify their requirements. 

Combining the work into one programme will allow the team to take a more systemic approach and leverage the opportunities scale can provide. Using modular architectural principles to align componentry across the properties will also make design and maintenance simpler but maintaining each country's unique cultural identity in the design is also important.  

The Pacific Islands are already seeing the impacts of climate change, and sustainability is a key driver for the client. The team is working closely with the Ministry to identify employment and training opportunities and ways to reduce the carbon footprint of the projects. 

McConnell Dowell is a foundation member of indigenous business networks Akina and Amotai in New Zealand and has a large network of local suppliers and services gathered from more than 50 years of working in the Pacific.   

The PPS project team will be able to leverage several other large projects McConnell Dowell is currently delivering in Tonga, Samoa, and the Solomon Islands. Staff based at sites in Samoa, Tonga and Fiji will provide essential support during the early investigation works. 

The ECI phase is expected to take nine months with early investigation and mobilisation ahead of construction planned for late 2023.