The $85 million project, which was opened to the public in August, was undertaken by the Northern Territory Government.

A $78.8 million construction package was carried out by Australian family-owned and operated company SMC Marine.

Company owner Peter Philipp says he is proud to work with the community and the NT Government.

“The Mandorah Marine Facilities will provide the residents in this region with improved and more reliable public transport services,” he says.

“We enjoy working collaboratively with our clients to design solutions to problems, particularly in the complex marine infrastructure environment.”

Ferries from Cullen Bay will be able to pick up and drop off passengers in the new marine harbour, which is sheltered by two rock breakwaters.

The majority of workers on the project have been Territorians, including young apprentices.

“We’re proud of being able to execute the works with predominantly local staff and workforce; they have a vested interest in producing quality work and leaving a positive imprint on the community,” says SMC Marine project manager Daniel Abbott-Wightman.

SMC has used more than 210 suppliers and subcontractors in the works, with 90 percent being Territorian – the remainder of contracts were for specialised disciplines, such as dredging.

The project works also involved local Aboriginal business enterprises, such as PattCon, which repurposed an existing structure to create a new ferry terminal, and Top End Line Markers, which did the line marking.

“A residual benefit to maximising local business engagement is that it spreads the impact of the project expenditure across a broad footprint, further benefiting the Territory,” says Daniel.

“The most rewarding projects are the ones that improve people’s lives and provide such a clear benefit to the community.”

The two communities on the Cox Peninsula – Wagait Beach and Belyuen – are delighted with the new facilities.

Aside from ferry users, the project has significantly benefited anglers, with the new boat ramp providing a much broader service window and with the existing jetty now free of ferry movements.

The project involved more than 60,000 work hours and was undertaken without incident, which given the challenging scope, is a testament to the professionalism of the supervision and workforce executing the works.

SMC Marine also contributed more than $62,000 in community benefit initiatives for Wagait Beach and Belyuen residents, including support for the Belyuen Community Government Council’s mobile Kenbi Kafe, funding local clubs and infrastructure improvements.

Highlights to the Northern Territory Government project include a:

• protected boat harbour to enable safe ferry and boat ramp navigation free from the open harbour sea-state
• floating pontoon with shade and seating for up to 150 people that follows the tide height, enabling accessible and safe passenger transfer to the ferry
• Disability Discrimination Act-compliant gangway access to the pontoon and onto the ferry
• ferry terminal building, complete with toilets and a water bubbler
• calm harbour boat ramp servicing tides above +2.5m
• designated boat trailer parking
• accessible platform to allow mobility challenged patrons easy access into trailered boats prior to launch/after retrieval.

SMC Marine, which specialises in complex marine infrastructure construction, partnered with the Territory branch of national design agency WGA, which developed the layout of the new marina.

The rock breakwaters are made entirely of granite rock supplied from quarries at Mount Bundey, with some rocks as large as 16 tonnes.

Territory businesses working on the project included Ostojic Group, Halkitis Brothers, Jackal Marine, F & J Bitumen Services, NT Excavation and Demolitions, NT Link, Gold Medal Services, PattCon, RAW Painting, FYFE, Norline Engineering, SeaLink, JT Harvey Construction and EcOz.

SMC Marine, which was founded more than 25 years ago, operates in all mainland states and territories in Australia.

Clients include state, territory and federal governments, Defence, local government councils, port authorities, the oil and gas industry, and public and private companies.

The company’s passion for marine sustainability led it to address the gap in the market by inaugurating two sister companies – SeaO2, which responds to specific market demand in marine bio-habitat expertise and management, and SeaO2 Nano, an innovator in the enabling, production and harvesting of food grade algae in a purpose-built facility in northern New South Wales. TQ