Following Clough entering voluntary administration at the end of 2022, the acquisition of Clough assets and operations by Webuild has been completed, with the approval by creditors ensuring the continuity of Clough’s projects in Australia and Papua New Guinea, as well as workforce employment.
The combined group will have more than 3,000 employees in Australia and a total workforce of 83,000 in the 50 countries where it operates.
The acquisition includes Clough’s organisation, including offices, trademarks, credentials, business references, senior management and office personnel, as well as more than $6 billion worth of projects in backlog.
In early February 2023, Webuild assumed operation and control of Clough’s activities in Australia and Papua New Guinea.
In addition to Clough’s stakes in projects held in common with Webuild – strategic infrastructure projects Snowy 2.0 and Inland Rail – the Group took the stakes, under restructured terms, in the Waitsia gas project, Lombrum naval base, Tallawarra power plant, as well as projects for which Clough is preferred bidder, such as Perdaman’s Ceres urea plant.
Following the acquisition, in Australia alone, Webuild’s order backlog will reach a combined of $18.5 billion, confirming the Group’s focus on markets with a low-risk profile, including Italy, Europe, Australia, and the United States.
Webuild is also focusing its investments on projects that are sustainable and innovative from the start of construction. It is maintaining high standards in worker safety, having reduced the accident rate by 80 per cent with the application of rigorous rules and supervision on construction sites, and along the entire supply chain.
The acquisition of Clough assets and operations will safeguard around 1,000 jobs and guarantee the continuity of Clough infrastructure projects that are among the most important being built in Australia and Papua New Guinea.
Australia is a core market for Webuild with potential construction contracts estimated in excess of $464 billion for the 2022-2025 period.
Among the projects acquired by Webuild is the construction of part of the Sydney Metro-Western Sydney Airport project that will connect the city to the new airport. The Group is working on the North East Link, the missing section of Melbourne’s beltway.
It is part of the consortium that has been identified as the preferred bidder for the construction of a section of Inland Rail, a railway that will improve freight transport between the ports of Brisbane and Melbourne. In the Snowy Mountains, it is working on Snowy 2.0, the largest hydropower project in the country.
