Sydney’s Western Harbour Tunnel is one of the city’s most significant infrastructure projects, connecting the Rozelle Interchange to the Warringah Freeway via a crossing under Sydney Harbour. At the heart of this megaproject is Boral’s historic Emu Plains site, transformed into a critical hub for precast manufacturing and concrete supply.
Project Challenge
Delivering a large-scale tunnel project requires precision, reliability and significant material volumes. The challenge was to establish a facility capable of producing thousands of precast segments and culverts while ensuring consistent concrete quality and supply chain efficiency — all within a repurposed site footprint.
Boral Solution
To meet these demands, Boral leased 18 hectares at Emu Plains to Acciona and installed a brand-new wet mix concrete batching plant, purpose-built in Queensland and transported to site by truck. This plant will produce approximately 90,000 cubic metres of concrete, enabling the manufacture of more than 13,000 precast segments and nearly 1,400 culverts for the tunnel.
The transformation of Emu Plains from a former quarry into a hub for recycling and infrastructure delivery demonstrates Boral’s ability to unlock value from existing assets. Materials for the batching plant are sourced from across Boral’s integrated network, including Peppertree, Dunmore and Berrima, ensuring supply chain resilience and efficiency.
Collaboration and Delivery
Mark Campbell, Executive General Manager Concrete, praised the teamwork behind the project:
“This is what Boral does best — bringing together great people, strong partnerships and smart assets to deliver for complex infrastructure projects. The collaboration across teams to get this up and running has been outstanding.”
From transporting and assembling the plant to producing and delivering concrete for the segments and culverts, Boral’s role in powering this tunnel build is significant and proudly ongoing.
Project Outcomes
The commissioning of a high-capacity wet mix batching plant at Emu Plains has enabled Boral to deliver a reliable concrete supply for the Western Harbour Tunnel’s precast manufacturing program. This facility is producing approximately 90,000 cubic metres of concrete, supporting the creation of more than 13,000 tunnel segments and 1,400 culverts required for the project.
The initiative has strengthened Boral’s partnership with Acciona and demonstrated the value of collaboration across multiple internal teams. It has also delivered significant economic benefits, creating hundreds of skilled jobs in Western Sydney and contributing to the region’s growth.
By repurposing a historic quarry site and integrating material supply from Boral’s network, the project has reduced transport requirements and improved operational efficiency, demonstrating how smart asset reuse can support major infrastructure delivery.
Conclusion
The Western Harbour Tunnel project demonstrates Boral’s ability to repurpose assets and deliver innovative solutions for Australia’s most complex infrastructure challenges. By transforming Emu Plains into a strategic hub, Boral is powering progress for Sydney and setting a benchmark for sustainable site reuse.
