The Hazelwood Rehabilitation Project is getting a new director as inaugural project director Tony Innocenzi is leaving his role at the end of the month after 40 years in the industry.
Mr Innocenzi will be replaced by former Hazelwood demolition manager Tom McDowall.
Mr Innocenzi thanked the local community for its support and the Hazelwood team which has achieved more than six years without a Lost Time Accident.
“For many, the demolition of the former power station has been a sad event as people in the local area and indeed around Victoria and Australia, have had a long association with the special place that is Hazelwood,” Mr Innocenzi said.
“We have not treated any of our work as a celebration but rather a job that needs to be done, with safety as the primary focus so that the Hazelwood site can be transformed into an area that will provide future benefit to the local community.”
Mr Innocenzi started as graduate engineer in 1982 based at the then SECV offices in Melbourne and came to the Latrobe Valley initially to work on a Yallourn W outage.
He went on to work as a construction engineer at Loy Yang A before joining Hazelwood in 1994, where he worked on a range of projects, as well Loy Yang B with Suez and ENGIE.
He was appointed as the Hazelwood asset manager which later evolved into the position of project director when the power station closed.
Mr McDowall paid tribute to Mr Innocenzi’s work as the Hazelwood Rehabilitation Project director.
“His very strong focus on safety for the workforce and the community has seen the project achieve an excellent safety record, and this will continue to be a major focus,” Mr McDowall said.
“There are still very significant works to be completed and Tony’s dedication and knowledge have put the project on a sound footing to complete those works successfully.”
