The construction company will be responsible for the delivery of a waste line replacement at QAL’s Parsons Point alumina refinery in Gladstone.

Rio Tinto owns an 80 per cent interest in QAL, Australia’s first alumina refinery and producer of around 3.7 million tonnes of alumina a year.

The project encompasses the design of the new waste line; removal of the existing pipeline; augmentation of the support structures that include around 1400 piles within tidal and marine zones; and installation of the new waste line, 8.8 kilometres of DN 350 SCH 60 above ground steel pipeline.

McConnell Dowell has commenced its work on the project and expects it to reach completion next year.

The company was previously involved in constructing Rio Tinto’s $75 million Amrun Chitch export facility in Queensland as part of the miner’s Amrun bauxite project.

The facility features a 650-metre long access jetty and 350-metre long loading wharf, winning a Queensland Civil Contractors Federation Earth Award in 2018.