30 November 2018 – Aurecon Design Director for Tunnels, Harry Asche is the 2018 winner of one of Australia’s most prestigious engineering awards.

The Roads Australia Technical Excellence Award was presented to Harry at today’s (30 November) Annual General Meeting and Annual Luncheon in Sydney.

Harry’s remarkable career achievements and positive impact on the engineering industry largely contributed to his success in taking out the top accolade.

In addition, the 2019 Roads Australia Board was announced, with Aneetha de Silva, Aurecon’s Managing Director – Government, being appointed. This further strengthens the partnership between the two organisations. In her role, Aneetha will chair the Journey Reliability Chapter, which provides a forum for government and industry to discuss the requirements of the transport system and the impacts of reform in Australia.

Design Director Harry Ache – Leaving a design legacy

As one of Aurecon’s Design Directors, Harry plays integral roles in the firm’s most technically complex projects. This includes projects such as the West Gate Tunnel in Melbourne and WestConnex in Sydney.

Dr Kourosh Kayvani, Managing Director – Design, Innovation and Eminence said, “Harry’s dedication and commitment are exemplified through the community shaping projects he has worked on across our ANZ region; his technical ability and his passion for tunnelling and innovation is unrivalled. We all congratulate him on this great honour”.

Beginning his career in heavy civil structures, Harry became first interested in, and then hooked on tunnelling, because it involves the greatest need for expertise, risk management and teamwork during design and construction. As a design and construction manager of a range of heavy civil structures, Harry also found that broad understanding of all aspects of projects leads to maximum innovation.

With more than 38 years in the design and construction of public sector infrastructure and experience in road, rail, water and tunnel design and construction management, Harry has deservingly earned ‘expert’ status, within Aurecon, and the wider engineering and construction community.

Roads Australia President, David Stuart-Watt, said the Technical Excellence Award recognised industry champions who had made a lasting and significant contribution to the science and technology that underpins successful transport solutions.

“Harry falls squarely into this category. His technical knowledge, and the successful application of it in tunnelling projects, has created a design legacy that resonates not just across Australia, but around the world,” Mr Stuart-Watt said.

In the past 15 years, Harry has led multidisciplinary teams in Australia and New Zealand, as well as providing specialist advice for tunnels in Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia.