Civil Infrastructure — New Zealand

Project direction and commercial leadership for civil infrastructure.

Owner's-side delivery and NZS 3910 commercial management, backed by nearly two decades on the contractor's side of the table.

Get in touch See the work
You get the director.

Engage Maka Projects and the person doing the work is the person you hired. Senior project direction without the overhead of a large consultancy — direct, decision-ready, and grounded in how projects actually get built.

What we do

Specialist commercial and delivery leadership for principals, councils, iwi and contractors on civil infrastructure projects.

Project direction & delivery

Senior leadership of live projects — programme, cost, quality and stakeholders — as owner's representative or contractor's representative.

NZS 3910 commercial & contract management

Contract administration, payment claims, instructions and notices — run properly, with positions that hold up under scrutiny.

Claims, variations & disputes

Structured, evidence-based entitlement and dispute resolution. Cause and effect, fair and reasonable — negotiated outcomes before escalation.

Roading & pavements

Pavement construction, rehabilitation and surfacing — from earthworks and stabilisation through to seal and asphalt.

Three waters & reticulation

Water, wastewater and stormwater delivery, including pressure and low-pressure sewer systems and full subdivision servicing.

Asset & maintenance advisory

Practical advice on network maintenance, renewals programming and contract performance for asset owners.

Track record

Recent projects led as Project Director unless noted.

NZTA Waka Kotahi

SH2 Matekerepu Roundabout

State highway intersection upgrade including the Wainui Road local-road leg on the Ōpōtiki District Council network.

NZTA Waka Kotahi

SH2 Ōpōtiki Teardrops — SP2 / SP3

Staged corridor delivery: preload and ground improvement (SP2) and pavement rehabilitation (SP3) on the SH2 Ōpōtiki corridor.

Raukawa Iwi

Tokoroa East School Subdivision

Full subdivision infrastructure — pressure and low-pressure sewer, three waters, streetlighting, fibre and power reticulation.

NZTA Waka Kotahi — Contractor's Representative

SH27 Walton–Wairere RTBs

Rural turnaround bay programme on SH27 — contract and delivery representation through construction and closeout.

Mark Watkins — Director

In civil infrastructure since 2007. Mark combines hands-on construction methodology with commercial strategy — the rare mix of knowing how the work gets built and how the contract should respond when it doesn't go to plan.

  • Maka Projects — Director2025 – present
  • Camex Civil — Chief Operating Officer / Chief Financial Officer2022 – 2025 · divisional oversight across roading, earthworks and water
  • Downer New Zealand — Construction Manager & senior operations roles2007 – 2022 · Waikato Construction Manager; Senior Operations Manager (Civil), Hamilton City / Infrastructure Alliance
  • Bachelor of Business — Massey UniversityDiploma in Civil Engineering (Std.)
Aerial view of the SH2 and Ohiwa Beach Road teardrop intersection under construction — excavators shaping the earthworks alongside the estuary, eastern Bay of Plenty.
SH2 and Ohiwa Beach Road teardrop intersection — construction, eastern Bay of Plenty.

Where we work

Central North Island — from the Waikato–Auckland boundary to the Desert Road, coast to coast, including most of the Coromandel.

Based between the Bay of Plenty and Waikato, with established working relationships across councils, iwi, NZTA and the contracting market.

Let's talk about your project.

Whether it's a delivery seat, a commercial problem, or a second opinion on a contract position — the first conversation costs nothing.