Barwon Water is upgrading the Wurdee Boluc Water Treatment Plant to boost capacity and resilience for Greater Geelong. Given the scale, complexity, and long-term service requirements, the project was designated High Value High Risk (HVHR) under the Victorian Department of Treasury and Finance (DTF) guidelines.

IAG provided end-to-end support for the development of Barwon Water’s procurement and delivery strategy including analysing procurement models (D&C, DBOM, DBFOM), engaging industry informally to assess market interest and capacity, exploring funding options aligned with regulatory approvals, developing a risk allocation framework, and structuring early works to manage brownfield site risks and enable smooth transition to major construction.

Our approach integrated commercial, financial, and technical expertise, leveraging best practices from similar major infrastructure projects. IAG conducted a strategic alignment and needs assessment in close collaboration with Barwon Water to ensure the procurement strategy aligned with corporate objectives, government funding requirements, and High Value High Risk (HVHR) guidelines. A comparative procurement and financing analysis was undertaken using structured evaluation criteria to assess delivery models, ensuring an optimal balance of cost certainty, risk allocation, and operational flexibility. IAG developed an implementation roadmap outlining key procurement milestones, governance requirements, and risk mitigation strategies to support the smooth execution of the project.