29 July 2025:
The 2025 CCNZ Hirepool Construction Excellence and Z Energy People Awards were a night to savour for Fulton Hogan’s alliance projects, project teams and individuals.
Held on Friday night (25 July) as part of the Civil Contractors conference in Tauranga, they excelled in winning three categories and achieving an unprecedented one-two in the Emerging Leader category. This is the second year in a row a Fulton Hogan up-and-comer has won this title.
Te Ahu a Turanga: Manawatū Tararua Highway project (pictured) won for Projects over $100M and the Auckland System Management Alliance (ASM) team won the Excellence in Maintenance and Management of Assets category.
In the associated Z Energy People Awards, Auckland Airport Contracts Manager, Josh Wilkinson, was Emerging Leader of the Year, recognising exceptional leadership since co-founding University of Auckland Civil Engineering Students Association as a student. 30-year-old Josh (below) now manages Fulton Hogan’s 120-strong Auckland Airport team.
In an unprecedented Fulton Hogan one-two, Bay of Plenty Project Engineer, Darcy Gallagher, was highly commended in the Emerging Leader category. Fulton Hogan’s young stars have now been voted the industry’s emerging leaders two years running, after Wellington Contracting Divisional Manager Dylan Fraser’s success last year.
Fulton Hogan’s eight finalists at Friday’s awards included Waimea Community Dam (with JV partners Taylors Contracting), the Te Mārua Water Treatment Plant optimisation project, the Hastings District Council Three Waters maintenance team and the Wairarapa team’s EcoReef® post flood road rebuilding project for Masterton District Council.
Of the winners, the newest and most visible is Te Ahu a Turanga. An 11.5km-long stretch of SH3 between Ashhurst and Woodville, it was an Alliance of NZTA, Fulton Hogan, HEB, Aurecon, WSP and five iwi partners.
The four-lane highway’s challenges included moving 6.5 million cubic metres of earth over challenging terrain and building what may be the Southern Hemisphere’s widest balanced cantilever bridge, over the Manawatū River.
Despite the disruptions caused by Covid shutdowns and adverse weather events, the project was completed ahead of the contracted completion date in June.
