Engineers from around the world have arrived on New South Wales' Mid North Coast to help deliver one of Australia's most complex road projects.
The $2.2 billion, 14-kilometre Coffs Harbour Pacific Highway bypass will include three interchanges and three tunnels through mountainous terrain.
Transport for NSW said the project was not immune to a national shortfall of 30,000 engineers, which is forecast to surpass 100,000 in seven years.
"What's happening in the current industry for construction at the moment is a lot of huge multi-billion-dollar projects are being built at the one time, not only within NSW, but nationally," deputy project director Rochelle Hicks said.
"So that has placed a strain on engineers that are available to be on site and we've gone internationally for some of those resources."
Malaysian-based engineering company Gamuda, and Spanish construction firm Ferrovial, were awarded the contract to design and build the joint state and federal project.
Overseas engineers fill shortages
He said the joint venture had already employed about 170 people and was still actively recruiting for at least nine engineering roles in Australia.
But despite extensive advertising across Australia, some engineering roles and other technical experts had been brought in by Ferrovial and Gamuda from overseas.
A 'great opportunity'
Nadhrah Haniffah is one of 14 engineers and other specialists who had been flown in from countries including Malaysia, Spain and Poland.
Ms Haniffah moved to Coffs Harbour from the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, about a month ago for the four-year bypass project.
"I know it's a great opportunity and it's a great experience and I said, 'Why not?'," she said.
Ms Haniffah said she had embraced the slower lifestyle Coffs Harbour had to offer, from seeing kangaroos to hiking in the bush.
She said relocating from the bustling streets of Kuala Lumpur had been a great experience so far, and hoped her husband and parents could come and visit during her stint.
"I want them to come here and to see this beautiful place," Ms Haniffah said.
Working with female engineers 'exciting'
Ms Hicks, who is overseeing a lot of the early works to enable Gamuda and Ferrovial to commence its construction, said building the bypass through the mountainous outskirts of Coffs Harbour would be an engineering feat.
She said working with engineers from abroad was of great benefit to the project.
"It's so exciting to have a young female international engineer on board to bring her skills and knowledge as to how we're actually going to build this project once we're up and running," Ms Hicks said.
She said the increasing number of women involved in the project, who so far comprised 37 per cent of the workforce, was encouraging.
"Even a couple of years ago, it wasn't uncommon for me to attend large workshops and be the only women only female in a room of, you know, 30 to 40 men, so now it's nearly 50/50," Ms Hicks said.
"So for me personally to see that shift, it's a remarkable change in the industry."
