Skip to main content

UGL wins Australia’s NorthConnex M&E services contract

Engineering services provider UGL has signed a four-year deal with the Lend Lease Bouygues joint venture that is building the NorthConnex motorway in Sydney, Australia. The US$329 million contract is for the design, procurement, construction and commissioning of the electrical, mechanical, communication, fire and control systems needed for the project’s 9km twinned tolled tunnel. UGL provides outsourced engineering, asset management and maintenance services to rail, transport, power, resources, water an
September 7, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
Engineering services provider UGL has signed a four-year deal with the Lend Lease 979 Bouygues joint venture that is building the NorthConnex motorway in Sydney, Australia.

The US$329 million contract is for the design, procurement, construction and commissioning of the electrical, mechanical, communication, fire and control systems needed for the project’s 9km twinned tolled tunnel.

UGL provides outsourced engineering, asset management and maintenance services to rail, transport, power, resources, water and defence sectors. The group has revenue in excess of US$1.6 billion, employing over 8,000 people, including subcontractors, across Australia, New Zealand and South East Asia.

The tunnels will have two lanes and a breakdown lane in each direction, as well as a height clearance of 5.3m with a speed limit of 80 km/h. The project will cost in the region of $3 billion in all and will be Australia’s longest road tunnel when the link opens to traffic. The construction budget of $2.65 billion is in addition to land and project delivery costs, is funded through toll charges with a contribution from the NSW and federal governments of up to $405 million each.

It was announced this summer that 325 Sandvik is supplying tunnelling machinery for the project.

Federal assistant infrastructure minister Jamie Briggs and NSW roads minister Duncan Gay gave the project the green light only in January, ending a decade of consideration and planning.

NorthConnex will join the M1 Pacific Highway at Wahroonga to the Hills M2 Motorway at Pennant Hills. It is a joint project between the M7 Westlink Shareholders, 891 Transurban, the Australian federal and the New South Wales state governments.

When complete, it will link Sydney's north to the Orbital network and form part of the National Highway route.

Lend Lease is globally operating Australian construction company and Bouygues is one of the largest construction companies in the world, with its headquarters located in France. Their 50-50 joint venture was formed originally to construct the East West Link project in Melbourne and NorthConnex. The group was the successful bidder on both projects, but following the cancellation of the East West Link project the focus switched to NorthConnex.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Saving lives, funding roads the focus of IRF – RA Regional Conference in Sydney in May
    April 8, 2015
    Road safety, funding and financing will be among the key issues on the table at the inaugural IRF - Roads Australia Regional Conference for Asia and Australasia, to be held in Sydney from May 4th - 6th, 2015. The Conference coincides with UN Global Road Safety Week, with safer roads, worksites and driver behaviour being a central focus of discussions. Speakers from across the Asia Pacific are expected to share learnings and experiences in tackling regional road safety and the challenges and opportunities fo
  • Highway 407 Revisited – smart tollroad extension
    June 7, 2016
    In the late 1990s, World Highways published a supplement on construction of Canada’s Highway 407, the world’s first all-electronic toll road. But how successful has it been? David Arminas reports from Toronto The head office for 407 ETR Concession Company is a low-rise building next to exit 59, just north of Toronto, Canada’s economic powerhouse. The building may be non-descript but inside is the advanced technical heart of Highway 407 ETR – Express Toll Route. It houses the latest toll monitoring techno
  • Date set to complete D1 Višňové Tunnel section
    July 20, 2023
    The D1 section between Lietavská Lúčka and Dubná Skala in Slovakia includes the partially completed 7.5km twin-tube Višňové Tunnel - to be the country's longest.
  • AAPA endorses fatigue endurance limits AUSTROADS guidelines
    May 18, 2015
    The Australian Asphalt Pavement Association (AAPA) has endorsed the new concept of a fatigue endurance limit to determine the full depth asphalt pavement thickness in a freeway environment. The endorsement came from the first meeting of the AAPA’s recently appointed National Leadership and Technology Committee (NTLC) made up of senior managers in the pavement and surface technology sector. The NTLC endorsed the industry-prepared draft design guide addendum for Perpetual Pavements from AUSTROADS. AUSTR