CIMIC Group Limited (formerly Leighton Holdings) is an engineering-led construction, mining, services and public private partnerships leader working across the lifecycle of assets, infrastructure and resources projects.

History

Founded in 1949 by

Stanley Leighton Stanley Leighton (1837 – 4 May 1901) was an English barrister, landowner, artist and Conservative politician. He is also known as an antiquarian and author. Life Leighton was the younger son of Sir Baldwin Leighton, 7th Baronet, of Loto ...

, Leighton Holdings was first listed on the Melbourne Stock Exchange in 1962. The company formed

Leighton Asia Leighton Asia Limited is an Asia-Pacific construction contractor, a part of the CIMIC Group, an Australian project development and contracting group. Leighton Asia is currently headquartered in Hong Kong, and has been operating in the continen ...

, based in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, in 1975. In July 1983 Leighton Holdings, purchased Thiess Contractors, with its major shareholder,

Hochtief Hochtief AG is a global provider of infrastructure technology and construction services, with locations in North America, Australia, and Europe. The Essen based company is primarily active in the fields of high tech, energy transition, and sustai ...

, becoming a shareholder in Leighton Holdings. In April 1997, the Welded Mesh structural materials division was sold to

Smorgon Steel Smorgon Steel was an Australian steel manufacturing company. It was the last remaining part of Smorgon Consolidated Industries, founded in 1958 by Victor Smorgon, member of the Smorgon family. In 1997, Smorgon purchased structural materials Wel ...

. In 2000, Leighton Holdings bought a 70% stake in John Holland; this was increased to 99% in 2004 and 100% in December 2007. Hochtief became a majority shareholder of Leighton Holdings in February 2001. In October 2013,

Fairfax Media Fairfax Media was a media (communication), media company in Australia and New Zealand, with investments in newspaper, magazines, radio and digital properties. The company was founded by John Fairfax as John Fairfax and Sons, who purchased ''The ...

alleged that Leighton Holdings had made corrupt payments to Hussain al-Shahristani, Deputy

Prime Minister of Iraq The prime minister of the Republic of Iraq is the head of government of Iraq and the commander-in-chief of the Iraqi Armed Forces. On 27 October 2022, Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani became the incumbent prime minister. History The prime minist ...

, to secure an oil pipeline contract in Iraq and other contracts. Basil Al Jarah, the Iraq country manager for Unaoil, a

Monaco Monaco, officially the Principality of Monaco, is a Sovereign state, sovereign city-state and European microstates, microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria, in Western Europe, ...

-based company allegedly acting for Leighton Holdings, subsequently pleaded guilty to corruption. By March 2014, Spanish company

ACS Group ACS, Actividades de Construcción y Servicios, S.A. () is a Spanish company dedicated to civil engineering, construction, all types of services and telecommunications. It is one of the leading construction companies in the world, with projects ...

, through its acquisition of a majority shareholding in Hochtief, was the majority owner of Leighton Holdings. In June 2014, Verdes also became chairman of Leighton's executive board. In December 2014, Leighton Holdings sold John Holland to China Communications Construction for $1.15 billion. In April 2015, Leighton changed its name to CIMIC Group (abbreviated from Construction, Infrastructure, Mining and Concessions). In March 2016, CIMIC purchased mining company Sedgman for A$256 million. In December 2016, CIMIC purchased engineering company UGL Limited for A$524 million. In November 2021, the

Ventia Ventia is an infrastructure services provider based in Australasia that provides a range of services to clients in both the public and private sectors. Ventia was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in North Sydney, Australia. Ventia has seconda ...

services division was spun off with CIMIC retaining a 33% shareholding. In March 2022, CIMIC was accused of arranging its affairs through the sale of its Middle Eastern business interests to avoid paying workers, subcontractors and suppliers in the region. Fatima Almass Al-Hamad, a judicial guard in Qatar, who was appointed by the court as an administrator of the Qatar business, Leighton Contractors Qatar, described the situation as "a humanitarian disaster". In April 2022,

increased its shareholding and commenced action to compulsorily acquire the remaining shares in CIMIC it did not own. Following this, CIMIC was delisted from the

Australian Securities Exchange Australian Securities Exchange Ltd (ASX) is an Australian public company that operates Australia's primary Exchange (organized market), securities exchange, the Australian Securities Exchange (sometimes referred to outside of Australia as, or c ...

and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Hochtief.

Structure

CIMIC Group includes the following businesses: *CPB Contractors (construction) *

(construction) *Broad Construction (construction) * Thiess (joint control) (mining) *Sedgman (mining) * UGL Limited (services) **

UGL Rail UGL Rail is an Australian rail company specialising in building, maintaining and refurbishing diesel locomotives, diesel and electric multiple units and freight wagons. It is a subsidiary of UGL (company), UGL and is based in Melbourne, with a s ...

*Pacific Partnerships (development and investment) *EIC Activities (engineering consultancy)

Major projects

Major projects undertaken by Leighton Contractors (renamed CPB Contractors in January 2016) include: * Yarra Glen Road, Canberra, completed in 1967 * Ross River Dam, Queensland, completed in 1971 *

Australian Astronomical Observatory The Australian Astronomical Observatory (AAO), formerly the Anglo-Australian Observatory, was an optical and near-infrared astronomy observatory with its headquarters in North Ryde in suburban Sydney, Australia. Originally funded jointly by the G ...

, Sydney, completed in 1971 * Tallowa Dam, New South Wales, completed in 1976 *

Canberra Stadium Canberra Stadium, commercially known as GIO Stadium Canberra, is a facility primarily used for rugby league and rugby union games, located adjacent to the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, the capital of Australia. It is the largest sp ...

, completed in 1977 *

Bowen Bridge The Bowen Bridge is a segmental cantilever road bridge crossing the River Derwent in Tasmania, Australia. The bridge serves as a vital transportation link in the state capital of Hobart, facilitating the movement of vehicles, pedestrians, and ...

, Tasmania, completed in 1984 *

Burdekin Dam The Burdekin Falls Dam, also known as the Burdekin Dam, is a concrete gravity dam with an uncontrolled spillway across the Burdekin River in the Whitsunday Region, Queensland, Australia. Built for the purpose of irrigation, the reservoir is cal ...

, Queensland, completed in 1987 *

Brisbane Airport Brisbane Airport is an international airport serving Brisbane, the capital of the Australian state of Queensland. The airport services 31 airlines flying to 50 domestic and 29 international destinations, total amounting to more than 22.7 mill ...

, completed in 1988 * Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre, completed in 1988 *Newman to Port Hedland section of the

Great Northern Highway Great Northern Highway is an Australian highway that links Western Australia's capital city Perth with its northernmost port, Wyndham. With a length of almost , it is the longest highway in Australia, with the majority included as part of the ...

, completed in 1990 *

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

Centre, Ultimo, completed in 1991 *

Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre (BCEC) is a convention centre in Brisbane, Australia. It is located in South Brisbane and occupies most of the block formed by Grey Street, Melbourne Street, Merivale Street, and Glenelg Street. The centr ...

, completed in 1995 *

Star City Casino The Star Sydney (formerly Star City Casino and prior to that, Sydney Harbour Casino) in Pyrmont, Sydney, is the second largest casino in Australia after Melbourne's Crown Casino. Overlooking Darling Harbour, The Star, owned by Star Entertainm ...

, Sydney, completed in 1997 *

North Lantau Highway North Lantau Highway is an expressway forming part of Hong Kong's Route 8, linking Hong Kong International Airport and Lantau Island with the rest of the territory. The road has three lanes in each direction for its entire length with fu ...

, Hong Kong, completed in 1997 * Olympic Park railway station, Sydney, completed in 1998 *

Eastern Distributor The Eastern Distributor is a motorway in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Part of the M1 and the Sydney Orbital Network, the motorway links the Sydney central business district with the south-east and Sydney Airport. The Eastern Distribut ...

, Sydney, completed in 1999 * Second Narrows Road Bridge, Perth, completed in 2001 *

Westlink M7 The Westlink M7 is a tolled urban motorway in Sydney, New South Wales that is part of the Sydney Orbital Network. Owned by the NorthWestern Roads (NWR) Group, it connects three motorways: the M5 South-West Motorway at Prestons, the M4 We ...

, Sydney, completed in 2005 *

Cross City Tunnel The Cross City Tunnel is a twin- road tunnel tollway located in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The tunnel links Darling Harbour on the western fringe of the central business district to Rushcutters Bay in the Eastern Suburbs. Each of th ...

, Sydney, completed in 2005 *

Westpac Place Westpac Place is a commercial skyscraper located in the north-western corridor of the Sydney central business district, Australia. The building is the bank's Australian headquarters. The building was built for the Westpac Office Trust, being in ...

, Sydney, completed in 2006 *

Mandurah railway line The Mandurah line, also known as the Southern Suburbs Railway, is a suburban railway line and service in Western Australia, linking Perth's central business district (CBD) with Mandurah to the south. Operated by the Public Transport Authority ...

, Western Australia, completed in 2007 *

North-West T-way The North-West T-way is a continuous series of bus-only lanes and bus roadways between Parramatta, Blacktown and Rouse Hill in Western Sydney. Opened in stages between March and November 2007, the T-way was the second bus rapid transit route t ...

, Sydney, completed in 2007 * Eagle's Nest Tunnel and Sha Tin Heights Tunnel, Hong Kong, completed in 2008 *Buranda to Coorparoo sections of the Eastern Busway, Queensland, completed in 2009 *

Forrest Highway Forrest Highway is a highway in Western Australia's Peel (Western Australia), Peel and South West (Western Australia), South West regions, extending Perth's Kwinana Freeway from east of Mandurah down to Bunbury, Western Australia, Bunbury. ...

, Western Australia, competed in 2009 * Clem Jones Tunnel, Brisbane, completed in 2010 * Gateway Bridge Duplication, Brisbane, completed in 2011 * ABC Brisbane Centre, completed in 2012 *Deer Park West to West Werribee Junction,

Regional Rail Link Regional Rail Link (RRL) is the name of a project to build a length of railway through the western suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria. The name is also colloquially used to refer to the rail alignment constructed as part of the project. The pro ...

, Melbourne, completed in 2015 *

South Island line The South Island line () is a rapid transit line of Hong Kong's MTR metro system. This line connects the Hong Kong business district from Admiralty station to the Southern District of Hong Kong Island and the island of Ap Lei Chau, wh ...

, Hong Kong, completed in 2016 *Redevelopment of the

Royal Adelaide Hospital The Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH), colloquially known by its initials or pronounced as "the Rah", is South Australia's largest hospital, owned by the state government as part of Australia's public health care system. The RAH provides tertiary hea ...

, completed in 2017 * Northern Beaches Hospital, Sydney, completed in 2018 *

M4 East The M4 motorway is a series of partially tolled dual carriageway motorways in Sydney designated as route M4. The M4 designation is part of the wider A4 and M4 route designation, the M4 runs parallel and/or below ground to Great Western Hig ...

, Sydney, completed in 2019 *

Canberra Metro The Canberra light rail network is a light rail system serving the city of Canberra, Australia. The initial line links the northern town centre of Gungahlin to the city centre (Civic) and has 14 stops. Services commenced on 20 April 2019. The ...

, completed in 2019 *

Sydney Metro Northwest Sydney Metro North West was a rapid transit project that constructed the first section of the Metro Northwest and Bankstown Line through the north-western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The project included the conversion of ...

, Sydney, completed in 2019 *

West Gate Tunnel The West Gate Tunnel, formerly known as the Western Distributor, is a four kilometre toll road currently under construction in Melbourne, Australia, to link the West Gate Freeway at Yarraville with the Port of Melbourne and CityLink at Dock ...

, Melbourne, due to be completed in 2022 *

Sydney Metro City & Southwest Sydney Metro City and Southwest is a rapid transit construction project in Sydney, Australia. The project will extend the Metro Northwest and Bankstown Line from on the North Shore, to in the city's southwest via the Sydney central busines ...

, Sydney, due to be completed in 2021 *

Sunbury railway line The Sunbury line is a commuter railway line in the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Operated by Metro Trains Melbourne, it is the city's fifth longest metropolitan railway line at . The line runs from Flinders Street station in central ...

upgrade, Melbourne, due to be completed in 2023 *

Parramatta Light Rail The Parramatta Light Rail is a Standard-gauge railway, standard gauge Light rail in Sydney, light rail line in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. The first stage of the line runs from Westmead, New South Wales, Westmead to Carlingford, New S ...

, Sydney, due to be completed in 2023

References

{{reflist

External links

CIMIC official website
Australian companies established in 1949 Companies based in Sydney Companies formerly listed on the Australian Securities Exchange Construction and civil engineering companies of Australia Construction and civil engineering companies established in 1949 Holding companies of Australia Holding companies established in 1949 Mining services companies of Australia 1960s initial public offerings