Palm Island Barge Ramp Upgrades – Pre-Construction Engineering and Detailed Design

Overview Palm Island Aboriginal Shire Council is seeking a suitably qualified multidisciplinary engineering consultant to undertake the pre-construction engineering, investigations and detailed design required for the upgrade of the existing Palm Island Barge Ramp. About Palm Island, also known as Great Palm Island, or by the Aboriginal name Bwgcolman, is the largest of twelve tropical islands in the Palm Island Group. The settlement is named variously Palm Island, the Mission, Palm Island Settlement or Palm Community. The group of islands is less than 20 kilometres from the nearest point on the mainland (Lucinda) and is 65 kilometres north of Townsville over sea. The islands are serviced by a 20 minute plane ride or one and a half hour ferry ride from Townsville and a one hour barge trip from Lucinda. Palm Island consists of small bays, sandy beaches, fringing reefs, freshwater streams and steep forested mountains rising to the highest peak of 548 metres at Bentley Ridge. Other islands in the chain, such as Orpheus and North Palm, have resorts and marine research stations. Situated in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, the surrounding reefs are used extensively by locals for hunting and gathering and other cultural purposes. Palm Island is the largest discreet Indigenous community in Australia with approximately 4,000 people residing on the island. There is high mobility between Palm Island and the mainland, and the population can increase to over 5,000 people during festivals and events. There are seven suburbs on the island, running from Butler Bay in the south to Wallaby Point in the north, with the main, central settlement area, The Mission, having the mall, shops, service centres, police station, motel, hospital and health service and Council chambers. Critical services infrastructure, including the Council's works depots, waste and recycling facility, (Ergon) power station, water and sewer treatment plants, and two water supply reservoirs, are at The Farm area, Solomon and Wallaby Point. Purpose The Services are intended to progress the project from the currently identified infrastructure deficiencies through investigations, options assessment, design development and detailed design to a complete, coordinated and RPEQ-certified construction-ready documentation package suitable for future construction procurement and funding. Scope The scope includes: Investigations, surveys and engineering assessments of the existing Palm Island Barge Ramp Options assessment and design development addressing repair, extension, widening and/or reconfiguration of the existing ramp, as appropriate Consideration of opportunities to improve tidal accessibility, accommodate larger and wider barges, increase operational capacity and facilitate concurrent barge operations where technically and operationally practicable Stakeholder and approvals coordination Cost estimation Preparation of technical specifications Other pre-construction activities reasonably necessary to progress the project to a complete, coordinated and RPEQ-certified construction-ready documentation package Contractor Requirements Suitably qualified multidisciplinary engineering consultant capable of undertaking pre-construction engineering, investigations and detailed design for the barge ramp upgrade Capability to produce RPEQ-certified construction-ready documentation Enquiries Contact: Marcio Fialho, Director of Projects Phone: 0448339292 Mobile: 0448339292 Email: marcio.fialho@palmcouncil.qld.gov.au