Nuvo Group has completed a highly complex Electrical and Technology infrastructure project at Crowne Plaza Hotel in Melbourne’s CBD.
After the construction of the new Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre in South Wharf, the ageing World Congress Centre building constructed in 1989 was made redundant. Two buildings, the World Congress Centre (WCC) and the Crowne Plaza Hotel, shared a common land title at the corner of Flinders St and Spencer St. The old WCC was to be demolished and redeveloped for a new purpose. However before this could proceed, the combined services of the two buildings needed to be separated.
The original electrical supply point was two substations at the WCC building. Given this site would be demolished, a new substation, hotel main switchboard and generators were installed on the Crowne Plaza site, to allow the hotel to operate completely independently. This then enabled unravelling and decommissioning of the old electrical supply infrastructure and all reticulation circuits.
All works were to be completed with minimal disruption to the 5-star hotel, its staff and its customers. Through a complex series of staged changeovers and backfeeding of switchboards, the Crowne Plaza hotel was able to maintain power supply throughout and continue to operate as normal.
Nuvo Group was engaged by Shape Contracting over an 18 month period to deliver the electrical separation package including decommissioning and installations. A tailored Critical Works Plan was developed to tightly control the works and minimise risk for the end client, Crowe Plaza and InterContinental Hotels Group. The original WCC site is now clear of electrical infrastructure to allow full demolition of the land to commence.
Robin Power, Director of Engineering for the hotel group said: “As a representative of a high-end hotel, I strongly recommend Nuvo. I was highly impressed with the work that Nuvo has delivered on a project that had very real risk potential to seriously impact the Hotel. They have given us a high level of attention to detail, quality and service that is rarely seen from an Electrical Contractor”.
Project at a glance
Size: $5 million
Package
- Undergrounds
- Generators
- Decommissioning
- Switchboard build and install
- CCTV
- Shutdowns
- Power Factor Correction unit
Location: Melbourne CBD
Clients
End Client: Crowne Plaza Hotel (IHG), Asset 1 WTC and Hanz
Consultant/Engineers: Aurecon
Project Superintendent: Project Planning and Management