Hawkins targets $1b revenue

An artist's impression of the $50 million redevelopment of Fiji's Nadi airport in which Hawkins is a partner

Construction firm gets boost from overseas work

New Zealand's record building boom and overseas work have pushed the country's biggest privately owned construction and infrastructure business to forecast a $300 million rise in annual revenue by 2017.

Hawkins' chief executive, Geoff Hunt, said revenue for the March 2015 year was expected to be $700 million but that was projected to rise in the next two years to $1 billion for the March 2017 year.

The rise would come from a mixture of national and overseas projects, he said, but the business would also invest in new technology to improve productivity and expand overseas on a project-by-project basis.

"Working offshore is a key focus for Hawkins. Our approach is targeted in niche areas which suit our risk profile and where we hold the expertise. We are working on the Nadi airport modernisation in Fiji and the Kookaburra Flyover and roading project in Port Moresby. We are also shortlisted on a number of geothermal projects in the Philippines and Indonesia," Hunt said.

The Fiji job is a 16-month, $50 million project and Hawkins is in a joint venture with Pacific Building Solutions.

The Papua New Guinea job is a $90 million contract to build a four-lane highway, including a flyover, from the airport into Port Moresby, a 2.2km road 600m wide.

Hawkins is also on Auckland University's Newmarket site, having won the main contract on the upgrade of four warehouses once used by Lion in its brewing operations before it moved to Ormiston Rd, East Tamaki.

Hawkins built Christchurch's new international airline terminal, Auckland's Viaduct Events Centre, a new student accommodation block for Auckland University, the Hilton Queenstown and Dunedin's covered Forsyth Barr Stadium.