The Awards Gala Evening, held at the Culloden Hotel & Spa and hosted by the Construction Employers Federation, saw the partnership win the award for their work on the latest £85m phase of redevelopment at the Dundonald site.
Congratulating the overall winners, CEF Managing Director, John Armstrong, said: “GRAHAM-BAM Healthcare Partnership’s work in delivering the £85m project is an excellent example of how our local construction industry is pivotal to the development of so many important projects across a wide range of sectors in Northern Ireland each year.
“The judging panel were particularly impressed at the very clear evidence of excellent collaborative working between client, user-groups, design team, principal contractor and sub-contractors ensuring that design quality, build quality and continuous consideration of ‘build-ability’ led to a high standard of client satisfaction, and indeed, to an extremely important new health care building that sets the tone and quality threshold for future phases at the Ulster Hospital.”
The winners are:
Overall Award
GRAHAM-BAM Healthcare Partnership, Ulster Hospital, Phase B2 Inpatient Ward Block
Achieving Excellence in Partnering Award
GEDA Construction, Holywood Sewer Network
General Construction
Commercial Construction Award
Woodvale Construction, LacPatrick Lactex – new dairy technology centre, Strabane
Fit Out Award
GRAHAM Interior Fit-Out, Dunnes Stores, Forestside, Belfast
Restoration Award
O’Hare & McGovern, John Bell House, Belfast
Social/Community Construction Award
Joint Winners
Farrans Construction, Connswater Community Greenway, Belfast and
McAleer & Teague, Museum of Free Derry
Housing
Private Housing Award
DB Building Contracts, Harberton (Phase 1) BT9, Belfast
Social Housing Award
Donaghmore Construction, North Queen Street, Belfast
GB & Republic of Ireland Construction Award
GRAHAM Lagan Construction Group Joint Venture, Green Port Hull, East Yorkshire
Infrastructure
Transport and Utilities Infrastructure Award
Farrans Construction, Connswater Community Greenway, Belfast
Health Infrastructure Award
GRAHAM-BAM Healthcare Partnership, Ulster Hospital, Phase B2 Inpatient Ward Block
Education Infrastructure Award
Felix O’Hare, Main Site Tower & Peter Froggatt Centre, Queen’s University Belfast
Quality Performance
Environmental Sustainability Award
Farrans Construction
Training Award
Heron Bros
Health & Safety Award
FLYNN
John Armstrong commended each of the 13 category award winners for their success against what he described as a “time of significant political and economic uncertainty” for the construction industry in Northern Ireland.
“Our recent State of Trade Survey with BDO showed a local industry, over the first six months of 2017, working at its highest level of output in a decade. Taken in the round, and when added to the outputs of other respected surveys, we can confidently say that the survey results reflected a local construction industry that is well beyond its low point of 2012.
“The next 6-12 month period is though absolutely critical for the local construction industry. The companies surveyed want to push on, they want to get beyond the stability phase that many have been in during recent years. The growth opportunities are there – the quarter on quarter increases in new housing starts and completions alone point to a housebuilding sector which is beginning to once again play a full role in unlocking economic growth and opportunity.
“There are though four clear challenges: industry’s concerns at a slowdown in Public Sector work resulting from the lack of a Northern Ireland Executive; the impact a potential hard Brexit could have on companies otherwise positive growth expectations; the significant skills shortage across many trades and; how substantial rises in labour, material and plant costs are impacting on margins and firms’ capacity to reinvest.
“These challenges are, though, not insurmountable. Indeed, the opportunities that lie in front of us are very much within our grasp. But, as ever, we need the political and economic environment to be right to maximise the potential of our industry. A potential which is already on show in the reality of the projects that are on show at the Awards.”
Now in their 18th year, the Construction Excellence Awards continue to go from strength to strength with this year seeing a record number of over 110 entries across all 13 categories.
For more information on the Construction Employers Federation, visit the website at www.cefni.co.uk
CLICK HERE for full coverage of all the winners.
