A Whakatane project and two Tauranga projects are finalists in the civil contracting industry's equivalent of the academy awards, being held in Dunedin next week.

Civil Contractors New Zealand's four-day conference starts on August 2, and the highlight for all industry attendees will be the celebration of the CCNZ National Awards 2017 held on Friday, August 4.

Remediation work at the Aniwhenua Dam Head in Whakatane, the revamp of the Tauranga waterfront, and the upgrade of Tauranga City Council's Memorial Park Pump Station are finalists in the CCNZ Hirepool Construction Excellence Awards. These awards recognise excellence in the construction or maintenance of assets and have five categories with 27 finalists.

Nova Energy selected Waiotahi Contractors and consultants Tonkin + Taylor to design and undertake the complex work to remediate a serious leak in the dam forming the Aniwhenua Power Station head pond in the remote Kaingaroa Forest. This work presented unprecedented challenge, complexity and urgency as the problem area was deep under water and amongst 35 years of accumulated debris.

The Tauranga waterfront work, awarded to HEB Construction by the city council, involved the construction of new tidal stairs, a pier and a pontoon to help enhance the public space and enable safe access to the water.

The Access to Water project.

Undertaken by Brian Perry Civil, the memorial pump station upgrade is part of Tauranga City Council's Southern Pipeline infrastructure strategy to manage wastewater more effectively. The upgrade enables wastewater to be diverted from southern areas of the city to the underutilised Te Maunga Plant.

The Hirepool Construction Excellence Awards will be announced at a formal dinner on the Friday evening.

Hirepool GM of Sales & Marketing Gary Richardson says his company's gear has helped build some of New Zealand's largest projects over the last 60 years.

'So we've seen the great work that these companies do up close, and it's a natural fit and privilege for us sponsor these awards. The work these companies have done in all entries is a testament to the people in their teams so well done to them all.”

CCNZ CEO Peter Silcock says the awards are an annual highlight for the civil construction industry and a chance to celebrate the extremely hard and dedicated work that CCNZ members undertake on every project.

'Our members create the backbone of the nation and the awards are a way to say ‘thanks for doing a wonderful job, we really appreciate what you do for your communities'.”

Whakatane's Aniwhenua Dam project.