Project of Year: Adelaide Desalination

  ProjectsAtWork  

The South Australian Water project team managed enormous complexities to finish ahead of schedule and under budget in delivering a climate-independent source of water to a region gripped by record drought. The initiative has been named 2013 Project of the Year by the Project Management Institute.

Communication, agility, risk management and the management of complex conditions and requirements are the hallmarks of any successful high-stakes project — and few stakes are higher or more urgent than the sustainable delivery of potable water to an entire community.

The Adelaide Desalination Project, an initiative completed by South Australian Water Corp. and undertaken by the South Australian and Australian governments, AdelaideAqua, and the Kaurna community, has been honored by Project Management Institute as the winner of the industry’s highest achievement — the 2013 PMI Project of the Year Award.

The drought that gripped southern Australia in the mid-2000s was the worst on record. The need for climate-independent sources of drinking water was clear to government leaders and residents — and the South Australian Water Corporation responded with an audacious plan to build an AU$1.8 billion desalination plant in Adelaide, South Australia. Launched in February of 2008, the project originally aimed to construct a 50-gigaliter (13 billion-gallon) …

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