Future Generation has contracted Leed Engineering and Construction Pty Ltd for roads and civil works on Snowy 2.0. Leed is an Australian based civil contractor and has a large crew at Lobs Hole. The company was established in South Australia around 20 years ago and now has offices in Adelaide, Melbourne, Bendigo and Cooma.

Leed was engaged by Snowy Hydro Limited to perform the Snowy 2.0 Early Works Road package in 2019. This project involved providing initial access road and bridge infrastructure, which was required to create suitable access into the Lobs Hole site. During the peak of these works, Leed employed over 120 people on the Snowy 2.0 project, many of whom came from the surrounding regions.

In late 2020 Leed commenced working for Future Generation JV performing road maintenance on several of the project access roads. At the time, this involved a crew of around eight 8 persons, with most of its our workforce heading away to other projects across Australia.  Since then, Leed has grown to become one of the largest contractors working for Future Gen on the Snowy 2.0 project. It has a workforce of over 200 people and continues to have a strong focus on connecting with the local region and its people.

According to Leed area manager Steve Sier: “We have a high amount of local participation, with around 10% of our workforce coming from the Snowy Monaro and Snowy Valleys LGAs, over 18% coming from the surrounding LGAs as far as ACT and Wagga, and a total of over 56% of our workforce coming from the state of NSW. A large number of these people are new employees who have been hired by Leed because of our work on the Snowy 2.0 project. We are always looking for more local people to come and join our team. Leed also places an emphasis on using local suppliers. Many of our key materials, such as quarry materials, reinforcing steel and hardware are sourced from local suppliers, and are often transported to site using local freight companies.”

In addition to working on the Snowy 2.0 project, Leed is also completing work for Snowy Hydro Limited and Snowy Monaro Regional Council. In order to house its rapidly growing engineering team, Leed opened a Cooma office in early 2020. This office serves as a base for all of Leed’s work in the area, and at times contains up to 12 engineers, working on various projects across the Snowy Mountain region.

“Our success on the project has allowed us to contribute economically to the local community,” Steve said. “Our workforce stays in the local communities of Adaminaby and Talbingo, where they eat at local pubs and clubs and shop at local supermarkets and bakeries. Leed has also sponsored events such as the MEIS Leed Charity Golf Day, the Cooma United Football Club, Adaminaby Bowls Club Tournament, and the Cooma Show Society.

“Leed is proud to be a part of the Snowy 2.0 project, and we thank both Snowy Hydro and Future Generation for the opportunity to be a part of this nation-building project.”