Evaluations commence as tunnel bids close

14 December 2007

Evaluations commence as tunnel bids close

The Queensland Government today received three competing bids for two of the State’s biggest infrastructure projects.

Treasurer Andrew Fraser said three groups had submitted bids for two major Brisbane road tunnel projects — the 7km Airport Link toll road and the Windsor to Kedron section of the Northern Busway.

Mr Fraser said the groups vying for the projects, to be jointly delivered in Brisbane’s northern suburbs, were made up of some of the world’s most experienced construction companies and financiers.

“These groups have invested significant resources and put an enormous amount of work into preparing their bids,” he said.

“It has been a very competitive process and I expect it will deliver the right result for Brisbane motorists and bus users, the Queensland taxpayer and the community.”

Groups bidding for the projects are:

·BrisConnections — Macquarie Capital Group, Thiess, John Holland

·NorthConnect Motorway — Baulderstone Hornibrook, Abigroup, Bilfinger Berger Civil, Babcock & Brown

·Northern Motorway — Leighton Contractors, ABN AMRO Australia.

“This is a very exciting and challenging time for infrastructure projects in South East Queensland,” Mr Fraser said.

“These projects are a vital part of our comprehensive infrastructure plan to meet Brisbane’s transport needs.

“They will also accommodate future growth which is a very important point when you consider our population growth.”

Today’s closure of bids marks the start of a six-month intensive evaluation phase to identify the successful bidder.

Mr Fraser said the evaluation phase was a vital but very detailed step to making the projects a reality.

“An evaluation team with top-level expertise will assess the three bids before making a recommendation about which one to accept,” he said.

“The team will assess the bids very thoroughly in terms of engineering design, traffic benefits, environmental outcomes, community outcomes and value-for-money.

“The bids will be judged against specific criteria so that each bidder is treated with the absolute fairness that they deserve for the enormous amount of work they have put into developing their proposals.”

In what will be Australia’s biggest Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project, the successful contractor will be asked to finance, design, construct, commission, operate and maintain the $2.5 billion (in 2007 costs) Airport Link underground toll road.

The same contractor will also design and build the Windsor to Kedron section of the $777 million (in 2007 costs) State-funded Northern Busway, before handing it back to the State to operate and maintain.

A preferred bidder is expected to be identified in June 2008, with the contract to be finalised around September 2008. Construction would start shortly after with both projects expected to be completed in 2012.

Airport Link is a mainly underground toll road that will connect the North-South Bypass Tunnel, Inner City Bypass and local road network at Bowen Hills to the northern arterials of Gympie Road and Stafford Road at Kedron and Sandgate Road and the East-West Arterial in the north-east. It is scheduled to open in 2012 and will be Brisbane’s second toll road tunnel.

The Northern Busway will ultimately connect the Inner Northern Busway at Herston to Bracken Ridge via Windsor, Lutwyche, Kedron, Chermside and Aspley. The Windsor to Kedron section of the busway is to be delivered with Airport Link to maximise the projects’ benefits and minimise construction impacts.

The projects are being managed by City North Infrastructure, a wholly owned Queensland Government company. They are two of the largest infrastructure projects planned in the first phase of the South East Queensland Infrastructure Plan and Program (2007-2026).

Media enquiries: Treasurer’s Office 3224 6900