Investors

Lendlease-led team wins $4.7bn Australian metro project

The group will build twin 9km tunnels and five new stations for Melbourne Metro in the largest public transport project in Victoria.

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Cross Yarra Partnership, a consortium formed of Lendlease Engineering, John Holland, Bouygues Construction and Capella Capital, has been selected to build the Melbourne Metro Tunnel and new underground stations.

The A$6 billion ($4.75 billion; €4.12 billion) project package is the largest of a series of bundles forming the state’s largest public transport scheme, which is estimated to cost a total of A$10.9 billion. Under an availability-based PPP model, the scheme includes the development of twin 9km rail tunnels and five stations at Arden, Parkville, CBD North, CBD South and Domain.

Melbourne Metro Rail Authority, the project implementing agency, shortlisted three teams last August and received final bids this April.

“We’ve chosen the design, we’ve chosen the builders and we’re getting on with it,” noted Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews.

The winning team was competing against two other groups pre-selected for the final stage of bidding: Continuum Victoria, comprising ACCIONA Infrastructure, Ferrovial Agroman, Honeywell, Downer EDI and Plenary Origination; and Moving Melbourne Together, which included Pacific Partnerships, CPB Contractors, Ghella, Salini Impregilo, Serco and Macquarie Capital.

Early works are well under way, Andrews added, with major construction on the tunnel and stations expected to start next year.

The state government will issue expression of interest to the market in the coming months for the Rail Infrastructure package, which involves works at the eastern and western portals including cut and cover tunnelling, decline structures, turn-backs and local reconfiguration and realignment of existing lines.

Bids for the rail systems design, which includes signalling, train and power control and operational control systems, are now under evaluation through a competitive alliance process. Two consortiums – a team of CPN Contractors and Bombardier Transportation; and the MetroConnect consortium comprising John Holland, Siemens and UGL – have been shortlisted for this contract.

Additional reporting by Andrew Vitelli