The program will be similar to that of the first ASTT/NZWWA joint conference held in 2003. The Conference will kick off on Tuesday with an Industry Breakfast, a chance to meet with old and new colleagues and NZWWA participants who will also be invited to this event.

After the breakfast it’s off to the golf course for the No-Dig Classic. Again, NZWWA have been invited to join in with this event to create even more networking opportunities. The golf course is currently being finalised but rest assured it will offer a reasonable challenge and an enjoyable day. For those who do not want to play golf, there is the NZWWA workshop program or the sights of Auckland to enjoy. The official opening will take place on Tuesday night.

Wednesday morning sees the start of the technical program with a full day of papers looking at existing and new technologies, relationships and systems. Thursday will also start with technical papers, following which the ASTT has the floor for the Iplex Pipelines keynote address from Dr Samuel Ariaratnam.

Dr Ariaratnam is an Associate Professor at the Ira A Fulton School of Engineering at Arizona State University. Dr Ariaratnam has been involved with all aspects of the trenchless industry and his presentation will cover the history of the industry, a look at where we it is now and more importantly, where the industry is likely to be in the next few years.

Dr Ariaratnam will also present a paper which he co-authored on pipe bursting, which will use the basic guidelines for operation as set out in the pipe bursting training course offered by the NASTT.

Thursday afternoon will see the No-Dig live demonstration in front of the Aotea Centre and the ASTT AGM will also be held on Thursday afternoon.

Friday morning will see a new development for the ASTT conference, with a workshop session that will take participants through the issues and stages of planning a pipeline rehabilitation project. The workshop will be based on the North Shore City experience and will look at strategic issues, investigation, planning, method selection, implementation, verification and lessons learnt. Friday afternoon will involve a field trip to see some of the project works under construction.

To complete the event, an extensive social program has been planned. Some presentation, sponsorship and display opportunities are still available and interested parties should contact Grant Binns for more information.