While for many 2023 may have been a year to forget, it certainly presented a huge volume of work for some of the nation’s biggest builders.  The BCI Construction League measures and ranks the top 50 builders according to the total project value for last year, and The Urban Developer is exclusively sharing with you 2023’s top 10.  Developer builders Mirvac and Deicorp dipped out of the top 10, as did construction firm Hickory, which recently broke ground on 434 apartments for Aware and Barings at Queens Road in Melbourne.  In line with a strategic move by Hutchinsons Builders to be selective about which jobs it picks up, the builder has slipped from pole position last year to seventh position in the top 10, while Lendlease continues to pull out of construction jobs for other developers, moving down four spots to eighth.  Notably in the 2023 rankings, Richard Crookes is no longer featured in the top 10, after nabbing third position in last year’s BCI Construction League.  BCI Central ANZ research manager Sarah Murphy said it was the usual suspects that crippled the industry last year, with a skilled labour shortage at the top of that list.  “The economic turbulence of the last few years is expected to continue in 2024, but with inflation heading in the right direction and interest rates holding steady, there are positive indicators of economic growth and investment in the building sector,” Murphy said.  “The project pipeline looks robust with many opportunities for those companies that can adapt and find innovative ways to boost productivity and enhance performance.” 10. FDC Construction and Fitout Number of projects: 38 Total project value: $902.7 million Average project value: $23.8 million ▲ FDC undertook the White Bay Power Station fitout. Image: Katje Ford Sydney-based builder FDC is an independently owned and operated construction company. While the company has a national presence, the lion’s share of its work is in NSW where it recently won the contract for the fitout of the FJC Studio-designed Barangaroo Cutaway. It also recently completed the urban regeneration of White Bay Power Station as an arts and community hub. 9.  Hindmarsh Number of projects: 15 Total project value: $985.2 million Average project value: $65.7 million ▲ Hindmarsh broke ground on the $275-million Woden Green at Phillip, which is due for completion in 2025. The family owned and operated builder has delivered more than $6 billion in projects during its 45 years in business with significant projects on the books across NSW and the ACT. More than half of the the construction company’s workbook was industrial assets in 2023, while it also put shovels to dirt on a significant 419-apartment project in Woden Green.  8. Lendlease Number of projects: 14 Total project value:  $1.1 billion Average project value: $80.9 million ▲ Lendlease’s Gurrowa Place project near the Queen Victoria Markets in Melbourne won approval from the Victorian planning minister in March. The construction heavyweight has pulled back its building workbook significantly in the past 12 months as it seeks to consolidate resources and focus on its own projects. Lendlease chief executive Tony Lombardo told investors that Lendlease was an “investment-led” business as it shifts its strategy more in line with a funds and asset manager. The juggernaut has some big projects in its pipeline including the $1.7-billion Gurrowa Place project, and a new highrise residential tower at Docklands, both in the Victorian capital.  7. Hutchinson’s Builders Number of projects: 108 Total project value:  $1.2 billion Average project value: $11.1 million ▲ Hutchinsons Builders are building Consolidated Properties’ Monarch development on Brisbane’s riverfront.  The south-east Queensland headquartered construction business is heavily focused on its home state’s market with 82 per cent of its workbook in the Sunshine State. The total value of its projects has dropped significantly from the previous year’s reported $2.64 billion as the builder eschews residential projects to focus on lower-risk infrastructure projects.  6. Hansen Yuncken Number of projects: 22 Total project value: $1.8 billion Average project value: $81.7 million ▲ Hansen Yuncken completed the Thomas Dixon Centre, a heritage-listed former factory and now a venue for the performing arts, in Queensland in 2023. The Victorian builder has strong foundations in the southern state and has been in business for more than 100 years. It now has a national presence across most states and a healthy pipeline of projects on the horizon. The construction firm has risen up the ranks from ninth place last year to sixth this year as it capitalises on big infrastructure builds across NSW and Victoria.  5. ADCO Number of projects: 26 Total project value: $2 billion Average project value: $78.6 million ▲ ADCO is due to break ground on a 31-storey, 327-apartment build-to-rent tower scheme at 50 Constance Street in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley this year. The family owned builder has beefed up its workbook value to top $2 billion in 2023 and moved up the ranks from sixth to fifth. The construction company has expanded its West Australian presence with more than a quarter of its projects in the west, while NSW and Victoria make up almost two-thirds of the group’s workbook, which is heavily skewed towards community and infrastructure projects. It is also putting shovels to dirt on its build-to-rent platform’s latest project at Constance Street in Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley.  4. Icon Number of projects: 21 Total project value:  $2.1 billion Average project value: $102.9 million ▲ Icon is helping transform Victoria's Moonee Valley racecourse with Hampton’s $176-million Moonee Valley Park Stonepine House & Trackside House. Part of the Kajima Corporation, an $11-billion Japanese construction powerhouse, Icon, with one of one of the industry’s most diverse workbooks, moves into the top 10 after placing 13th last year. Helping it up are under-way projects including Riverlee’s $269-million Seafarers hotel/residential development, Hampton’s $176-million Moonee Valley Park Stonepine House & Trackside House, and the $265-million Greystar Gladstone Street build-to-rent project, all in Victoria.    3. Built Number of projects: 102 Total project value: $2.6 billion Average project value: $25.6 million ▲ A render of the $400-million Younghusband development in Melbourne. The privately owned and Australian-based Built has leapt from seventh to third this year on the back of a $1.13-billion increase in project value. Established in 1998, Built, which also has UK and NZ branches, last year did more than half of its projects in NSW, and more than 60 per cent of the total were in the commercial sector. It has a finger in the pie that is Brisbane’s biggest project, Queens Wharf, designing and building the major gaming fitout of The Star Brisbane. It’s also working on Melbourne’s biggest carbon neutral adaptive reuse precinct, the $400-million Younghusband development. 2. Multiplex Number of projects: 12 Total project value: $2.7 billion Average project value: $227.3 million ▲ Queens Wharf Brisbane has helped Multiplex to second position in the league again this year. Bridesmaid again in 2023, Multiplex continues to work on the city-shaping $3.6-billion Queens Wharf Brisbane multi-purpose residential and entertainment precinct, among other developments, as it lifts its project value by $600 million. Founded in Australia in 1962 and now headquartered in the UK, Multiplex had a strong leaning towards the west last year with 42 per cent of its Aussie projects in WA. Just 8 per cent were in Queensland, but what an 8 per cent it is… 1. John Holland Number of projects: 14 Total project value: $6.8 billion Average project value: $486.6 million  ▲ The $12-billion Metro Tunnel project in Melbourne is due to open later this year. Making its top 10 debut in style, John Holland has grabbed the top spot this year with a $6.8-billion project value—that’s more than $4 billion ahead of its nearest rival. Infrastructure is John Holland’s forte and it has been able to make the most of the rising number of Federal and State government projects in the sector. Currently under way for the group is the $3.9-billion Rozelle Interchange and Western Harbour Tunnel Enabling Works in NSW, and Victoria’s West Gate Tunnel and Metro Tunnel projects among many others. Headquartered in Melbourne and also operating in NZ, it is a subsidiary of China Communications Construction. The BCI Construction League, in partnership with  The Urban Developer , ranks builders and builder-developers by the total value of projects that commenced construction in 2023. Check out Australia’s top 50 construction firms,  here .
