Leighton Asia News, July 2005 - Leighton Holdings

Leighton Asia News
July 2005

In this issue
3 Changing of the guard
4 Laybarge makes a splash
on Hong Kong harbour
6 New appointments for
Leighton Asia (Southern)
7 Sewer project meets
the challenges
8 Vital power on line
in Sri Lanka
10 Sub-continent presents
exciting opportunities
11 Leighton’s 30 years in Asia
19 Recollections of key staff
20 Stylish celebration of
30 years in Asia
22 Difficult conditions
overcome at massive
LNG project
23 More telco work in Malaysia
24 HK$140 million in
new Hong Kong and
China projects
24 Chinese website to
be launched
25 Leighton scoops the pool
at Hong Kong awards
26 Malaysian staff generosity
helps Sri Lankan students
27 Nokia calls up for project
in India
21 Leighton on track
for increased profit
Cover photograph: North Point station concourse, Hong Kong.
Story on pages 11 – 18.
Leighton Asia
News
www.leightonasia.com
Leighton Asia (Northern)
39th floor
Sun Hung Kai Centre
30 Harbour Road
Hong Kong
Leighton Asia (Southern)
13th floor
Menara Multi-Purpose
Capital Square
8 Jalan Munshi Abdullah
Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia
Editor: Chris Gordon
chris.gordon@leightonasia.com
+852 2823 1493
Editorial, design and production
by Abrahams

Changing of the guard
• Will Hamilton retires at Leighton Asia (Northern)
• Joe Dujmovic becomes new managing director
Leighton Asia (Northern) will soon have a
new managing director following Will
Hamilton’s announcement that he will
retire at the end of July. Joe Dujmovic will
take over the reigns in August.
After 20 successful years in Asia, Will has
decided to return to Adelaide to spend
more time with his family.
“My children are at critical stages of
their education and I wish to be there as
one of them does their final school year,”
Will said.
“I have many great memories of my time
in Asia and have been fortunate to have
achieved quite a lot. I will certainly miss it.
“I’m pleased to be leaving the company in
great shape and have no doubt that Joe
and his team will be able to continue the
growth we have been able to achieve over
the past few years,” Will said.
And what does he intend to do back
in Australia
“In the short term, not much. There will
be some ongoing Leighton Asia (Northern)
projects that I will stay involved with for a
while. After that, I’ve got nothing planned
yet, but no doubt there will be some
fishing involved,” Will said.
Leighton Holdings’ chief executive officer,
Wal King, said he was sad to see Will go,
but wished him well.
“While Will’s resignation is a
disappointment to the company, we
appreciate his desire to spend more time
in Australia with his family. Will has
worked for 17 years in Asia with Leighton,
the last three as managing director of
Leighton Asia (Northern).
“Will has been an integral part of the
Leighton Group’s success in Asia and we
thank him for his valuable contribution
over the last 17 years. He leaves Leighton
Asia (Northern) in a strong position with
over A$700 million worth of work-in-hand,
which underwrites the business for the
next few years,” Wal said.
he spent 18 years working on major
projects around Australia before joining
Leighton Asia in 2000.
His Australian experience included the
role of project director on contracts such
as Sydney’s M5 East motorway and Sydney
Airport’s ‘Third Runway’, also Melbourne’s
City Link – Australia’s first fully electronic
toll road.
Joe’s current responsibilities include
delivery of several major projects including
the A$625 million Central Reclamation
and the A$334 million Eagles Nest tunnel
in Hong Kong, and the A$370 million
Wynn Resorts project in Macau.
Wal said that he was very pleased with
the appointment of Joe, who has run the
largest and most profitable branch of
Leighton Asia (Northern) for the last
three years.
“Joe is a very capable manager who has
demonstrated an ability to grow the
businesses under his control. One of the
Leighton Group’s great strengths is its
depth of management and Joe typifies the
quality of our people, right across the
company, who are capable of stepping up
to the next level,” he said.
Above left: Will Hamilton.
Above right: Joe Dujmovic.
Joe Dujmovic is currently serving as
general manager responsible for Hong
Kong, China and Macau. A civil engineer,
page 3

Laybarge makes a splash
on Hong Kong Harbour
The laybarge being used by Leighton on its US$42 million Tai Po to Shenzhen
pipeline project made quite a splash recently when it arrived at Hong Kong’s
bustling Victoria Harbour.
The Zhong Ren 703 is pictured sailing towards
Tolo Harbour before starting its sea trials.

Named the Zhong Ren 703, it needed
three large tug-boats to guide it through
the channels and on to Tolo Harbour to
undergo sea trials.
The 33-kilometre submarine pipeline
consists of twin 18” concrete weightcoated
pipes. It is being built by
Leighton for the Hong Kong China Gas
Company to bring liquefied natural gas
(LNG) from Shenzhen to Hong Kong for
town gas production.
The laybarge is the most sophisticated
pipe vessel ever designed and fabricated
by Leighton. It follows those built for the
company’s aviation fuel facility contract in
Hong Kong, the Cabot offshore terminal
and pipelines in Malaysia and Sri Lanka’s
Muthurajawela tank farm project.
The Zhong Ren 703 is an 85 x 25 metre
flat-top barge on which the pipe’s launch
ramp has been fabricated. Indicative
of its size is the fact that it has a fully
fitted galley with messing facilities for
120 crew.
Many of the specialised pieces of
equipment aboard are duplicated,
allowing the barge to lay the twin pipes
simultaneously; considerably speeding
the process.
Its major items of plant include:
> a fully automatic mooring system
consisting of eight 20-tonne and two
30-tonne winches;
> two 30-tonne linear pipe tensioners,
complete with 30-tonne constant
tension abandonment and
recovery winches,
> a 160-tonne deck crane and a
100-tonne pedestal crane,
> three pipe welding shelters and a
non-destructive testing shelter,
> a dive control station; and
> a full DGPS system positioning and
tracking system
A marine structural engineer designed
the launchway and stinger arrangement.
An independent checking engineer was
employed/commissioned to conduct checks
on the structure and a naval architect
conducted barge stability checks.
page 5

New appointments for
Leighton Asia (Southern)
Martyn Raymont. Eric Wardle. Tom McGuire.
Martyn Raymont has
been appointed general
manager for Malaysia,
Singapore and Brunei
Martyn has over 30 years experience in
civil engineering and building projects
across the world, having worked in the
United Kingdom, the Middle East, the
Caribbean, Australia and Asia.
Despite the relatively limited
opportunities currently available,
Martyn says he is excited at the
prospects for the company in Malaysia,
traditionally Leighton Asia (Southern)’s
largest market.
”Our focus for the forthcoming year
will be to ensure we deliver our current
projects – particularly the KL to
Putrajaya Highway and Rawang-Ipoh
double-tracking – as scheduled,”
Martyn said.
“With a solid level of work in hand, we
are in a great position to be selective in
the type of work we pursue.
“We’ll also be looking to expand our
operations into new areas, such as oil
and gas, to capitalise on the increasing
opportunities in this sector,” he said.
Martyn takes over from Hamish Tyrwhitt,
who returned to Australia earlier this
year to take on the role of general
manager for Leighton Contractors in
Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and
New Zealand.
Immediately prior to joining Leighton,
Martyn had been with Clough
Engineering for around 10 years. He
holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Civil)
degree from Portsmouth University.
Eric Wardle has been
appointed operations
manager for Leighton
Asia (Southern)
Previously general manager for
Singapore, Sri Lanka and India, Eric will
maintain direct responsibility for Sri
Lanka, and support managing director
David Savage on specific projects across
the region as necessary.
Tom McGuire has been
promoted to the new
role of country manager
for Sri Lanka
Tom was previously the Leighton Asia
(Southern) quality, safety and
environmental manager. He moved to
Sri Lanka to oversee the finalisation of
the Caterpillar power station at
Embilipitiya (see story, page 8), and
will now stay on in Sri Lanka to direct
Leighton’s operations there.

Sewer project meets
the challenges
Parts of Hong Kong have some of the most congested streets in the world, so
constructing a new sewer system though them was always going to be a major
challenge. However, Leighton’s team working on this project has shown that it is
well up to the task.
Installing the system involves constructing
and commissioning more than four
kilometres of trenchless sewers of various
sizes between Hong Kong Island’s waterfront
areas of Wanchai and North Point.
It is being built for the Hong Kong
Government’s Drainage Services
Department by Leighton in joint venture
with Kumagai Gumi.
Leighton’s project manager, Jimmy Chu,
said that despite the enormous challenges
that had to be faced, to date, all of the
major difficulties had been overcome.
“Our sites, and we have quite a number
of them, must be located at street level.
So the population density – particularly
in Causeway Bay – certainly creates
difficulties for us,” Jimmy said.
“Much of the land we are tunnelling
through is reclaimed, and it contains a
high level of scrap metal. We had a
problem with one of our tunnel-boring
machines (TBMs), where we hit some
steel waste.
“This caused some quite lengthy delays
but, because we had a second TBM
working from the other end, we have
been able to make up the lost time and
are now well and truly back on schedule,”
he said.
In total, the joint venture is installing:
• 3.1 kilometres of 1800 millimetre
diameter trenchless sewers;
• 770 metres of 1200 millimetre
diameter trenchless sewers;
• 58 metres of 600 millimetre diameter
trenchless sewers;
• 182 metres of open cut sewers ranging
in diameter from 225 to 1500
millimetres;
• 75 metres of watermain; and
• 27 associated shafts and manholes
ranging in depth from six to 20 metres.
“In undertaking this work, we have
worked hard to minimise disruptions to
both vehicular and pedestrian traffic,
and recently we received a Considerate
Contractors Site Award from the
Environmental, Transport and Works
Bureaus,” said Jimmy.
The project is due for completion in
December this year.
page 7

Vital power on line in Sri Lanka
The commissioning of a new power station at Embilipitiya, Sri Lanka, supplies a
much-needed new source of energy to a country that has had more than its share
of difficulties in recent times.
Despite the tsunami hitting the coasts of
Sri Lanka in December and causing
devastation in the region, Leighton
Contractors Lanka (Pvt) Ltd has completed
the construction and installation works for
the new 103 MW power plant in only 14
months. The plant is now exporting power
to the Sri Lankan grid.
Leighton’s EPC contract involved the design
and construction of the main powerhouse to
accommodate 14 Caterpillar engines and the
associated support facilities, which include
a tank farm, a fuel unloading station, a fuel
treatment building and a switchyard.
Tom McGuire, Leighton’s country manager for
Sri Lanka, said the project presented some
unique challenges.
“Part of the difficulty was the project’s remote
location. Embilipitiya is a small town in the
south-eastern corner of the country; about four
to five hours’ drive from Colombo.
“The site itself is located some distance out
of town and there were occasional problems
with staff encountering elephants on their way
to and from work,” he said.
“We needed a large workforce and,
consequently, had to enlist staff from all
over the country to work here. In a very short
time frame, we had to integrate a large
number of new employees into Leighton’s
systems and procedures.
“When you consider the devastating impact the
tsunami has had on this country, the
achievement of getting the facility to provide
electricity on schedule is testimony to the
commitment of all involved. It also
demonstrates Leighton’s ability to mobilise and
motivate people even during times of
hardship,” said Tom.

Above: The Leighton team.
Right: The plant is now exporting power
to the Sri Lankan grid.
page 9

Sub-continent
presents exciting
opportunities
by David Savage
The signing in Chennai three weeks ago of our contract with Nokia for the
construction of a new mobile phone manufacturing plant marked a significant
milestone in Leighton’s history in Asia.
About 18 months ago, as part of our
strategic planning process, we identified
India as one of the key markets that we
had to break into if we were going to
achieve our ambitious growth targets.
Since then, we have done a great deal of
hard work to bring this to fruition.
• we opened a new office in Mumbai late
last year, and this is now a fully selfsufficient
operation; and
• we have tendered for a number
of projects in various locations
throughout the country, in a variety
of different disciplines.
Also, Pakistan offers potential in oil and
gas, and civil infrastructure projects.
While we did act as project managers on
a road contract in Mumbai in the late
1990s, the project for Nokia is the first
of what will no doubt be many significant
projects for us in India.
To secure a good-sized project for a bluechip
multi-national is a great start for our
Indian operation.
I am confident that our success on this
project will lead to further work and will
help to establish India as a major market
for us in the future.
The sub-continent contains a range of
opportunities for us. In Sri Lanka, a
relatively small market where we enjoy
limited competition, we have identified a
number of exciting prospects. Indeed, I
hope to be able to announce a new
project there in my next column.
An artist’s impression of the new plant.

Recollections of key staff
Ray Brewster
Project director. With
Leighton Asia since 1981
John Nash
Executive director,
engineering services. With
Leighton Asia since 1978
C S Tsang
Project director. With
Leighton Asia since 1978
Paul Chung
Chief Accountant. With
Leighton Asia since 1978
Securing the Light Rail Transit
System (LRT) in Tuen Mun for
KCRC was the achievement
that really put us on the map
in Hong Kong. It took us into
the contractors’ big league.
Worth HK$1.1 billion, in
terms of dollar value, it was
well above anything we had
undertaken at that point and it
remained our largest project
for many years.
The LRT also continued our
fruitful relationship with
KCRC. My first two projects
here – the Tai Po Market and
Tai Wai Stations – were both
for KCRC and, today, they
remain a key client of ours.
The LRT contract considerably
broadened our work portfolio
into major project
management as well as
foundation works, building,
overhead line works and track.
Of course, there were the more
traditional works such as
reclamation, seawalls, site
formation and civil works too.
As promised, completion was
achieved on the 8th of the
8th, 1988; a particularly
auspicious day for the
Chinese. As project manager
Jim Holt used to say: “We’ll
open that day even if I have to
push the first tram myself.”
The LRT project marked our
entry into sophisticated largescale
contracts. It was our:
> first exposure to being a
leader on a large joint
venture;
> first major design and
construct and turnkey
project; and
> first project with significant
electrical and mechanical
content.
It showed the market that we
were capable of undertaking
projects of any size and it
positioned us as a market
leader – a position we have
not relinquished.
Also, John Faulkner’s arrival
as managing director in 1988
marked the start of a
controlled expansion outside
of Hong Kong.
Combined with the
simultaneous strengthening of
our management in Hong Kong
– marked by Bill Wild’s
appointment as Hong Kong’s
general manager – this led to a
significant increase in the
company’s size, turnover and
profit, and formed the blueprint
of the company today.
When I started with Leighton,
the company was attracting
skilled local engineers and
graduates who were attracted
by Leighton’s application of
new technology and methods
imported from Australia. This
was a very exciting time to be
in engineering.
The Wanchai Reclamation
project for the Hong Kong
Convention and Exhibition
Centre is a personal highlight
of my 27 years with the
company. Truly, I did not know
how we could complete all the
tasks in the very short time
available. We all worked very
hard on that project and were
very focused. We finished
ahead of schedule and we
made a great return.
I’m proud to say that all
my projects have finished
on or ahead of schedule –
and always with a profit for
the company.
Having been with the company
for over 28 years, there have
obviously been many
highlights. However, one really
stands out for me – the Brunei
airport project.
This was the first project
Leighton Contractors (Asia)
Limited had won outside of
Hong Kong, and it was the
start of the company’s now
broad footprint across Asia.
John Nash and I were sent
down there for the duration
of the project, and it was a
tremendous success.
It was very rewarding
personally, because it showed
that the company was
prepared to give opportunities
to local staff; and that, even
though we were working for an
international company, there
were clear opportunities for
career advancement.
page 11

Black Point power station, Hong Kong.
Leighton’s
30 years in Asia
Leighton Asia was established in Hong Kong 30 years ago. The world was a very
different place in 1975. Its major nations were confronting each other across
borders that had changed very little since the end of the 1940s. The economic
landscape was very different too. In particular, the vast majority of Asian nations
were still hopeful that an economic miracle would happen – yet held little belief
that it could.

Leighton Asia was established in
Hong Kong 30 years ago. If you
find it hard to remember that era,
look what was happening in 1975:
> Microsoft was founded;
> Saigon fell to communist North
Vietnam’s Viet Cong troops;
> Pol Pot took over Cambodia;
> The terracotta warriors were discovered
at Xian, China;
> Queen Elizabeth II visited Hong Kong
for the first time;
Leighton Asia’s first project was a large site
formation project in Tuen Mun, Hong Kong.
> The Altair, the world’s first home
computer, was launched; and
> US President Gerald Ford survived an
assassination attempt.
Although setting up its first regional office
in Asia, Leighton was certainly not a
newcomer to the Asian scene. By then, it
had already undertaken significant projects
in the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan and
Malaysia. However, it found that although
the projects were profitable, controlling
these contracts from its headquarters in
Sydney was difficult.
The Leighton Holdings Board decided that,
if Leighton was serious about growing its
market in Asia, the company had to have a
permanent base and a strong presence
there. So it agreed to make the investment
in establishing its Asian headquarters in
Hong Kong.
Leighton Holdings Chairman Bruce Hedley
predicted that “ … the new base will
eventually provide most of the marketing,
technical, supervisory and administrative
support required for the area.”
From its earliest days, Leighton Asia
worked hard to establish a strong presence
in the region. Its first project was a large
site formation project in Tuen Mun, Hong
Kong, which it secured in the face of
tough competition from local and overseas
contractors. This contract, worth HK$52
million – an enormous sum in those days
– gave Leighton the start that it needed.
Soon afterwards, once the various Hong
Kong authorities could see they could rely on
the company and the expertise it brought to
its work, other contracts started to flow -
some in Leighton’s own right and others in
The HK$102 million Ho Tung Lau railway depot for the KCRC in Hong Kong.
joint venture with specialists in specific
fields such as foundation engineering.
Within only five years, Leighton Asia
was well established and fully accepted
as a Hong Kong-based construction
organisation. Among its major
achievements were being awarded
additional contracts for reclamation at
Tuen Mun, worth HK$102 million and
HK$205 million (the latter project being
completed six months ahead of schedule),
and the HK$102 million Ho Tung Lau
railway depot for the KCRC.
With about 550 staff – 500 of them
employed locally – Leighton Asia now had
a strong local identity and an increasingly
impressive track record.
With new towns, roads, railways and other
infrastructure development on the drawing
board, there were ongoing opportunities
for the company to continue to expand.
Additionally, Leighton Asia was continuing to
benefit from having access to the advanced
engineering techniques used by Leighton in
Australia and by HOCHTIEF in Germany.
The company now had the size and the
strength to venture further in its quest for
contracts. So, in 1982, the company
opened its first offshore office in Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia.
page 17

However, this move coincided with a
massive downturn in the property market in
Hong Kong, which had a catastrophic
effect on the construction industry. In their
scramble for work, construction companies
began to slash their margins. Many did not
survive. The future was further clouded
because Britain and China had not yet
resolved the future of Hong Kong past
1997. The uncertainty delayed investment
decisions and extended the recession.
Construction activities remained
depressed until 1985, when Leighton Asia
stormed ahead by winning ten new
contracts including the HK$1.2 billion
Tuen Mun light rail transit system in
consortium with Victoria’s Metropolitan
Transit Authority. This massive turnkey
contract was a fitting marker to end
Leighton Asia’s first decade.
Building and civil engineering remained the
cornerstone of the company’s activities,
with some very significant projects being
awarded by the Hong Kong Government
including the HK$344 million Chuk Yuen
housing project and a massive site
formation contract at Lam Tim worth
HK$168 million – then the largest civil
engineering project ever awarded by the
Hong Kong Housing Authority.
Despite this, the cloud of uncertainty still
hung over the still-British colony. No
political decisions had been yet made on
Hong Kong’s future past 1997. As a result,
by 1989, Leighton was having difficulty
retaining quality local staff, because many
of the company’s experienced employees
were leaving to live overseas. Concerned
over the situation, Leighton decided to
diversify further geographically; opening an
office in Bangkok.
Throughout Hong Kong, business
confidence was starting to sag, until the
government took steps to ‘stop the rot’.
In a bold move, it announced the massive
Port and Airports Development Scheme
(PADS). However, it would be two years
before the first of the contracts under the
program would be awarded.
In 1992, Leighton became the first
company to win a PADS project; the
advanced earthworks for the Route
3/Lantau Fixed Crossing Interchange on
Tsing Yi Island – a contract worth about
HK$1 billion. The upsurge in activity led
Leighton to upgrade its fleet and the
company introduced the first Caterpillar
D11 dozers into Hong Kong.
The problems of recent years were soon
forgotten as major contracts started to
flow; starting with the massive HK$2.47
billion joint venture West Kowloon
reclamation project.
Meanwhile, the office in Thailand was
showing very positive results. The first
project there was to build the THB280
million Burli Jucker House. This was
followed by significant contracts for
residential and commercial developments,
and then a tracking station for the British
Broadcasting Corporation.
The search for new contracts was strongly
supported by Leighton’s intensive safety
programs and its increased emphasis on
obtaining quality accreditation in the
countries where it was now operating.
In 1995 Leighton won its largest-ever
project undertaken on its own;
the HK$1.2 billion contract for the
engineering, procurement and
construction of the aviation fuel service
facility at Hong Kong’s new airport site.
With its enhanced reputation and boosted
by a strong flow of work-in-hand, Leighton
again expanded its sights, opening offices
in Hanoi, Manila and Ho Chi Minh City
over the next two years.
Vietnam proved to be an important, albeit
relatively small market for the company.
Key projects included the new Australian
Embassy in Hanoi and the Saigon
Metropolitan Tower in Ho Chi Minh City –
one of the city’s landmark buildings.
A relationship formed with China State
Muang Thong Banga,
Housing development, Thailand.
Tai Po Aqueducts, Hong Kong.

Construction Company was aimed at
increasing opportunities for Leighton in
mainland China.
By 1996, building was by far Leighton’s
strongest-performing business sector and
contributing largely to the record level of
new work being secured. Countering this
was a significant downturn in civil
engineering and infrastructure work as Hong
Kong’s PADS projects started to wind up.
At a commercial level, 1997, the Hong
Kong ‘handover’ year, came and went
without great drama. The change in
sovereignty had no negative effect on the
business environment. Indeed, Leighton
enjoyed another year of record turnover
and profits in Asia.
Although the new Hong Kong airport was
now close to completion, the government
would soon announce massive new
infrastructure and public housing programs.
Leighton was very well placed to benefit
from them; by now having undertaken
many high-rise housing projects for the
Hong Kong Housing Authority – and having
developed an innovative jump-form
construction technique, which allowed
faster completion.
Leighton had now also gained a reputation
as a ‘quality’ builder throughout the wider
region in which it operated; winning
prestige commercial projects such as the
A$100 million Rockwell Centre project in
Manila. In Malaysia, Leighton won the
nationwide Teachers’ Housing project –
10,000 apartments – for which it would
eventually achieve 17-million manhours
without a lost-time injury and, for this, be
awarded the World Safety Organisation’s
‘Concerned Company Award’.
Between 1997 and 2002, the company
had doubled in size and achieved a far
broader footprint across the region. In order
to facilitate the continued expansion of its
operations in the region, the company
decided to separate Leighton Asia into two
separate entities – Leighton Asia (Northern)
and Leighton Asia (Southern).
The key objective was to provide greater
management strength and focus to enable
the business to continue growing.
> Leighton Asia (Northern) encompasses
operations in Hong Kong, China, Macau,
Taiwan, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam
and Laos, and
> Leighton Asia (Southern) covers
Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei,
Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan and the
Arabian Gulf.
Today, as it enters its fourth decade,
Leighton Asia is one of the region’s leading
contractors and project developers.
The total value of its work in hand is now
over US$1 billion and the company is
consistently winning major projects in its
key market segments. Current major
projects include the HK$3.8 billion
Central Reclamation project and the
HK$1.8 billion Eagle’s Nest Tunnel
project in Hong Kong, the RM908 million
Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya Highway in
Malaysia, the MSJ coal mine in
Indonesia, and the RM381 million
Rawang-Ipoh rail project in Malaysia.
Leighton Asia (Northern) and Leighton
Asia (Southern) now employ more than
4000 people throughout Asia.
The current Central Reclamation project in Hong Kong.
Saigon Metropolitan, Vietnam.
Teachers' Housing, Malaysia.
Operating from these centres, it
undertakes a diverse range of projects
involving civil engineering and
infrastructure, mining, building,
railways, marine works, oil and gas,
telecommunications and other
specialised disciplines.
It has certainly come a very long way
since 1975, when it sent a small team
from Australia to Hong Kong to establish
a toehold in Asia.
While building remained a core business
sector, in 1999 a spate of new railway
contracts started to redress the balance
for civil engineering. They included:
> A HK$1.2 billion joint venture with
China State Construction Engineering
Corporation to construct stations,
tunnels and associated works for the
Tseung Kwan O extension of Hong
Kong’s Mass Transit Railway.
> A HK$800 million trackwork contract
for West Rail permanent way.
Over the next two years, Leighton would
also win more than HK$2.2 billion of rail
work, including tracklaying and the
extension of Hong Kong’s light rail
network. Additionally, through the
acquisition of John Holland’s Indonesian
operations, it would inherit a significant
rail project in Thailand.
page 19

Over six hundred staff and guests enjoyed the evening.
Stylish celebration
of 30 years in Asia
Leighton has celebrated the 30th anniversary of its
establishment in Asia with a gala dinner in Hong Kong.
More than 600 staff and guests enjoyed an
outstanding event that featured a nostalgic look
at the company’s achievements since 1975,
and a video of humorous interviews and
recollections of the company’s longest serving
staff members.
The dinner coincided with a visit to Hong Kong
by the Leighton Holdings Board, which was
holding its annual planning meeting. Many of
the Board, including chairman Geoff Ashton
and Chief Executive Wal King, attended the
dinner. Leighton Holdings’ former managing
director Stewart Wallis, who initiated Leighton’s
move to Hong Kong, also attended.
down from the position at the end of July –
paid tribute to Leighton’s staff for their part in
making the company what it is today.
“There is absolutely no doubt, that after 30
years of operation in Asia, Leighton is the
leading broad-based construction and mining
contractor in the region,” Will said.
“I would like to thank you all for your
commitment and for your continued efforts,
for it is because of you that we are where we
are today,” he said.
Will Hamilton, in his last speech as managing
director of Leighton Asia (Northern) – he steps

Leighton on
track for
increased
profit
Moody’s assigns
rating of Baa1
Wal King.
Leighton Holdings is on track to achieve a full-year profit of A$180 million.
This follows its announcement in May of an operating profit after tax
unaudited) of A$115.8 million for the nine months to 31 March 2005.
Operating revenue for the nine months
was A$5.4 billion. Work in hand stood
at A$14.9 billion.
Leighton Holdings’ chief executive Wal
King reported that it had been a very busy
period for the Group, with a number of
projects converted.
“Work in hand has held up very well,
driven by the award of new road, services
and building projects around Australia,”
he said.
“In April, the Group’s financial strength
was re-affirmed when Moody’s Investors
Service (Moody’s) initiated a credit rating
of the Group.
“Moody’s assigned an issuer rating of
Baa1 to the company (equivalent to
Standard & Poors’ (S&P) current BBB+
rating) and a rating of Baa2 to Leighton’s
A$200 million Convertible Subordinated
Notes issue. This is one notch higher than
S&P’s current BBB+ rating.
“We are very pleased with the outcome of
the rating review which gives the Leighton
Group one of the highest ratings of any
project developer and contractor, anywhere
in the world.
“This rating reflects Moody’s expectation
that the Leighton Group will maintain its
strong position in Australia’s buoyant
construction and mining market.”
Wal said that the Australian construction
market remained in the midst of a
transport-led upswing and a number
of large road projects now commencing
should provide a substantial base of
activity over the next few years. In
addition, projects such as the tolling of
the Pacific Highway and the recently
announced ‘South East Queensland
Infrastructure Plan and Program
2005-2026’ – worth up to A$55 billion
over the next 20 years – should provide
further opportunities.
“The commercial and industrial property
markets remain strong and are forecast to
remain so for at least another few years.
The Group has about $1.4 billion worth of
building and property work in hand, with a
substantial amount driven by Leighton
Properties, which has built a strong
portfolio of development projects,”
he said.
He said he expected the Asian region to
continue to provide a good contribution for
the next few years, underpinned in part by
Indonesia and the large, long-term mining
contracts the Group has there.
“Hong Kong has a solid base load of
infrastructure work and construction of the
Kuala Lumpur to Putrajaya highway has
resumed, which will underwrite activity
levels for the next few years in Malaysia,”
he said.
The outlook for the next few years remains
very positive with record levels of work in
hand providing a platform for growth in
revenue. The directors expect to report full
year revenues of around A$7 billion and
an increased operating profit for the full
year of at least A$180 million.
page 21

Difficult conditions
overcome at massive
LNG project
Leighton’s success on the preliminary stages of the Tangguh LNG project in West Papua,
Indonesia, has resulted in the company securing a new US$40 million contract for the
construction of a permanent camp at the project.
Under the new contract for JGC/PT
Brown and Root Indonesia Joint
Operation, Leighton will design and
construct a camp providing
accommodation and facilities for 5,500
personnel. Leighton’s scope includes all
buildings, furniture, equipment, services
reticulation, roads, fencing, walkways and
recreational facilities.
Work on the project will commence
immediately and is due for completion
in July 2006.
Fabrication of the buildings is being
undertaken at Leighton’s own facility
in Jakarta.
Leighton has already completed two
smaller camps – worth approximately
US$10 million – at the same project.
The initial camp went into operation in
December 2004, and the second camp
in May this year.
In addition, the company secured a
US$30 million contract in December last
year for the site development, including
earthworks, roads and landscaping, for
the LNG plant. This is due for completion
in November.
All four projects form part of the
consortium’s EPC contract with BP Berau
for a 7.6 million tonnes per annum LNG
plant. The plant will be constructed over
a period of four years. With a total value
of US$2 billion, it is one of the largest oil
and gas projects under construction in
South East Asia.
The key to Leighton’s success has been
its ability to mobilise temporary facilities,
personnel and materials to an extremely
remote site with no landing facilities, and
in an area where the tide recedes up to
500 metres at low tide.
The site lies within Bintuni Bay in the
North West of West Papua. This is a
greenfield beachhead site, with no
infrastructure and no road access. The
nearest airstrip is approximately one hour
by speed boat from the site.

More telco work
in Malaysia
DiGi Telecommunications –
one of Malaysia’s top
telecommunications
providers – is undertaking
a significant expansion
of its GSM 1800 mobile
telecommunications network.
As part of this, it has awarded a RM97
million contract to Leighton to design
and construct close to 300 base
transceiver stations. This important
contract confirms Leighton’s position as
Malaysia’s leading telecommunications
infrastructure provider.
Leighton is well experienced in this field,
previously having undertaken a number of
projects for Maxis in Malaysia, including
constructing Phase 2 of its national
optical fibre network and installing a
series of base transceiver stations across
the country.
On this contract for DiGi, Leighton’s scope
of work involves managing the
installations from end to end starting with
site identification and acquisition of the
greenfield tower sites. These sites will be
located throughout Peninsula Malaysia.
The project then ranges through:
> civil and structural design of the site
infrastructure, substructure and
support towers;
> liaison with local authorities for site
permit approvals;
> constructing the foundation and
infrastructure works;
> fabricating and erecting the antenna
support towers, which range from 45 to
76 metres high;
> supplying and installing the equipment
cabin, mechanical and electrical works;
and power generation facilities
(where required);
> installing the antennas, feeders, DC
power, transmission and BTS equipment
supplied by DiGi; and
> commissioning and integrating the
telecommunication equipment.
On average, the project will employ
about 50 Leighton staff and 400 subcontract
personnel.
Leighton’s project manager, Paul Martin,
said that managing the site identification
and acquisition program is a vital aspect
in ensuring the success of the project.
“We will survey several alternative
locations for each tower site and adopt a
ranking system for each location, based
on RF coverage, acquisition, construction
and costing parameters,” Paul said.
“This will ensure that DiGi receives
sufficient information to make clear and
informed decisions on the best positions
for its transmitter sites.
“Because there are so many construction
sites, and they are scattered over an
extremely large area, the logistics and the
management of the construction works
will also present a significant challenge.
“We will develop a work schedule for each
site and establish milestone checks to
ensure the works are on schedule and
meet our strict quality requirements,”
he said.
page 23

HK$140 million in new
Hong Kong and China projects
Contracts as diverse as extensions to a plastics extrusion facility, remediation at a container port
and construction at a theme park are all in a day’s work for Leighton.
These are just some of the projects now
being undertaken in the latest series of
contracts secured by Leighton Asia
(Northern) in Hong Kong and China.
In June the company secured a RMB16
million contract with GE Plastics to extend
its plastics extrusion facility at Nansha
and build a two-storey administration
block and canteen at the site. The
contract will add a further 3500 square
metres to the extrusion facility.
Leighton has previously undertaken a
number of projects for GE Plastics in
Thailand and its success there helped the
company to secure this latest contract.
Over the past six months, Leighton has
been building a theatre at a theme park in
Hong Kong. This project has now been
followed by a HK$115 million contract for
further building work at the site.
Also in Hong Kong, Leighton has secured
a HK$10 million contract with Hong Kong
International Terminals (HIT) to repair
concrete and install a cathodic protection
(CP) system. This will take the form of
ribbon anode mesh on the landside slabs
and on the supporting corbels of two
berths at the massive Kwai Chung
container port.
The works also include commissioning the
cathodic protection system and creating
an operations and maintenance manual.
This is the second project of this type
awarded to Leighton by HIT at the same
shipping terminal.
Chinese website to be launched
Leighton is set to launch a Chinese language version of its web site, highlighting
the increasing importance of China in the company’s growth plans.
The new web site, which is a replica of
the company’s English language site, will
go live in July.
Leighton’s director of infrastructure, Allard
Nooy, said Leighton’s increased focus on
China had created a need for a Chinese
language website.
“Most of the people we are dealing with
are not fluent English-speakers. In fact,
many of them don’t speak English at all,”
Allard said.
“So, it is important for them to be able
to learn about us in their own language,”
he said.
Leighton is also considering creating web
sites in other languages.

The award-winners line up.
Leighton scoops the pool at
Hong Kong awards
The Hong Kong Considerate Contractors award scheme recognises contractors that
demonstrate outstanding site safety and environmental performance, and a considerate
attitude to the community in carrying out their works.
Organised by the Hong Kong Government
Environmental, Transport and Works
Bureau, its requirements are tough and
qualifications are closely monitored. To
win an award, a company must maintain
extremely high standards.
It is an honour to win just one of these
coveted awards. This year, Leighton has
won four of them.
Leighton was awarded:
> the gold award for site cleanliness at
the Eagle’s Nest tunnel project;
> the silver award for site cleanliness at
the Wanchai East and North Point trunk
sewers project;
> a considerate contractors site award
at the light rail traction power and
overhead line project; and
> a considerate contractors site award
at the Central Reclamation project.
Each site had to undergo four on-site
assessments conducted by government
officers from different departments of
the Environmental, Transport and
Works Bureaus.
Additionally, to qualify for the awards,
the site must not have recorded any
convictions relating to safety,
environment, dangerous goods, traffic or
public health during the appraisal year.
Leighton general manager Joe
Dujmovic said that Leighton’s
outstanding performance in the awards
highlighted the company’s position as
a leader in safety, environmental and
community management.
“However, we should not be completely
satisfied with our performance and must
be constantly aiming to achieve further
improvements in our safety and
environmental record,” he said.
page 25

Malaysian staff generosity
helps Sri Lankan students
The generosity of Leighton’s staff in Malaysia has enabled a number of students in tsunami-affected
southeast Sri Lanka to resume their A-level studies and begin preparing for their final exams.
Many high-school students in the
Tangalle, Dickwella and Ambalantota
areas were directly affected by the
Indian Ocean tsunami that struck
the area in December last year. In
addition to losing family members,
many lost their homes and with them
their study materials.
The money raised by Leighton’s staff in
Malaysia – more than RM13,000 – has
funded the purchase of a large number
of the textbooks the students require to
prepare for their A-level exams.
To date Leighton has purchased some
1300 textbooks on subjects including
chemistry, physics, economics, Sinhala,
geography, mathematics and English.
Recently, Laksiri Jayewardene
(Leighton’s office and IT manager)
presented textbooks to about 80
students at a small ceremony at
the Methodist Church in Tangalle.
“All of the students who received
the books were extremely grateful,”
Laksiri said.
“Most were due to take their A-level
exams in May this year, but the trauma
of the tsunami, coupled with its affect
on their study facilities and timetable,
has meant that they have chosen to sit
their exams next year.
“They will now have a full year to study
and, with their new text books, they will
be able to approach their exams with
confidence,” he said.
Leighton has committed US$100,000 to
tsunami relief in the region.
In Sri Lanka, in association with a local
multi-religious group, Leighton had
planned to build a resource centre for
children orphaned by the tsunami.
However, although the site had been
selected and the group had taken
ownership of it, difficulties were
encountered in the ongoing
administration of the centre. As a result,
the project has been placed on hold.
Currently, Leighton is investigating other
ways in which it can assist people
affected by the tsunami.
The company has already provided a
number of new beds, mattresses and
sheets for an existing orphanage in
Tangalle and is looking at how it can
provide further assistance.

An artist’s impression of the new plant.
Nokia calls up for project
in India
Nokia, the market leader in mobile
phones in India, is taking steps
to secure its position even further
by building a new manufacturing
plant near Chennai, in the State
of Tamil Nadu.
The company’s president, Pekka
Ala-Pietilä, has said the factory would
be an integral part of Nokia’s global
manufacturing network and help to
fulfil growing demand as mobile
communications become increasingly
affordable and available to more people
in the region.
“Establishing a new factory in India is an
important step in the continuous
development of our global manufacturing
network,” he said.
Leighton Contractors (India) has been
awarded the US$35 million contract to
construct the new facility, which is located
near the village of Sripernumbadur, about
45 kilometres from Chennai.
This important contract reflects the
growing geographic spread of Leighton
in Asia and will enable the company to
gain a firm foothold in India, said David
Savage, managing director of Leighton
Asia (Southern).
“The Nokia project provides us with a
basis for significant future expansion,
and underlines the opportunities
available in India and the potential of
the market,” he said.
“India is a key component of our growth
strategy and this project provides a good
example of the type of opportunities
available to us there with reputable
multi-nationals.”
Leighton has previously worked for
Nokia, having installed base
transmission stations for the company in
the Philippines.
Under this new contract, Leighton’s scope
of works includes:
> complete site development of a
greenfield site;
> construction of a 23,000 square metre
steel-frame building to house two major
production halls, offices, warehouses
and locker areas;
From left: Jukka Lehtela, Nokia’s director, India
operations; with Lauri Vesalainen, Nokia’s vice
president, operations and logistics APAC; David
Savage, managing director, Leighton Asia
(Southern) and Russell Waugh, general manager,
India and Oil & Gas.
> installation of electrical systems, heating,
ventilation, air conditioning and vacuum
systems, and all teletechnical systems;
> construction of water treatment and
sewerage facilities;
> Installation of firewater pumps and
distribution systems, including gas
suppression systems in electronic
rooms; and
> all external works, including roads,
carparks, gatehouses and fencing
The site provides scope for future
expansion and for the development of
bases for Nokia’s sub-suppliers.
The project, which is now under way,
is scheduled for completion in February
next year.
page 27