Road & Civil Surveys provided construction surveying and spatial support for the Hunter Power Project — a $950 million, 660-megawatt gas-fired power station at Kurri Kurri in the NSW Hunter Valley, delivered by UGL for Snowy Hydro. Declared Critical State Significant Infrastructure by the NSW Government, the project is a key piece of Australia’s energy transition, providing fast-start dispatchable generation capacity to firm up renewable energy and maintain grid reliability as coal-fired stations retire.

The facility comprises two Mitsubishi Power F-Class open cycle gas turbines capable of operating on natural gas, diesel, and up to 30 per cent hydrogen, a 132kV electrical switchyard, and approximately 23 kilometres of supporting pipe infrastructure. The plant is built on the former Kurri Kurri aluminium smelter site and is currently in commissioning, targeting commercial operation in 2025.

Our Role

With 5+ surveyors on site across a two-year engagement, RCS was embedded within the UGL delivery team from main works through to the lead-in to commissioning — providing survey and spatial support across the full plant footprint.

Our scope covered set-out, verification, and as-built surveys for turbine foundations, civil earthworks, pavements, and SMP pipe infrastructure. Turbine foundation set-out demanded extremely tight tolerances — the positioning accuracy of these foundations directly determines whether the 314-tonne generator stators and associated mechanical equipment can be installed and aligned to manufacturer specifications. Any survey error at foundation stage compounds through every subsequent installation phase.

RCS also provided detailed data modelling and calculations to support design coordination and construction planning, ensuring spatial data was verified against design intent before work commenced on critical elements.

Driving Value

Power station construction is fundamentally different to road and rail work. The survey requirements are driven by mechanical and process engineering tolerances rather than civil construction standards — and the cost of getting it wrong is measured in equipment damage, program delays, and commissioning failure, not just rework.

RCS drove value for UGL by providing a survey team that understood these stakes. Our data modelling identified coordination issues between civil and mechanical disciplines early, allowing the construction team to resolve clashes before they reached the field. On turbine foundations specifically, our set-out and verification work provided UGL with the confidence that critical structural elements were positioned within the tight tolerances required for turbine and generator installation — avoiding costly remediation during the mechanical fit-out phase.

Regular UAV flyovers provided the project team with consistent aerial progress imagery and volumetric data to support end-of-month claims, program reporting, and stakeholder communication across a project that carried significant public and government scrutiny.

• Turbine foundation set-out and verification to tight mechanical tolerances
• Construction surveying for civil earthworks, pavements, and site infrastructure
• SMP and pipe infrastructure survey support
• Data modelling and calculations for design coordination
• UAV flyovers for progress tracking and EOM claims
• Verification and as-built surveys across the full plant