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Creation Date: Fri, 03 Feb 2012 GMT

Engineers join front line of Mount Isa's boom

A TEAM of Queensland-based engineers will start work immediately on designs for a $30 million project to ensure Mount Isa can cope with a population blow-out caused by the mining boom.

A team of 20 engineering consultants based in the Brisbane and Townsville offices of Harrison Grierson won the design contract for the first stage of Mount Isa's sewerage upgrade project, which is expected to complete construction by mid-2014.

The development comes as the Mount Isa City Council expects the area's population to blow out to 33,000 by 2040.

"Mount Isa is going through quite a lot of growth at the moment because of the activity that's going on in the mining sector, and because of that, there's increased residential developments with the increase in the workforce and the families that are relocating to Mount Isa," said Mount Isa Sewerage Upgrade project director, and Harrison Grierson director, Colin Cranfield.

"Because of that, the infrastructure needs to be upgraded, in particular the sewerage system which is about 40 years old."

Mr Cranfield said the project was also an opportunity to recruit junior engineers and provide them with career-changing experience.

He was confident the company would find skilled staff despite the current high demand for engineers in Queensland.

"I think the attraction of working for a firm in an aggressive growth mode, with really interesting projects on at the moment and some really senior professionals on hand will carry us through," he said.

Harrison Grierson has 30 staff in Queensland but plans to get "much bigger than that" given there are "many opportunities for decades for engineers" in the state.

SOURCE: http://www.couriermail.com.au/business/engineers-join-front-line-of-mount-isas-boom/story-fn7kjcme-1226258228416