Skip to main content

New South Wales is seeking financial packers for WestConnex in Sydney

Investment bank Goldman Sachs will soon be sending out expressions of interest for backers to finance Australia’s biggest road deal, the three-stage WestConnex project to be rollout by the New South Wales government. According to a report by The Australian newspaper, initially around US$1.17 billion will be needed for the first phase of the Sydney toll road project. The first phase will likely cost between nearly $2.35 billion and $3.9 billion. Total cost of all three phases over 10 years could be as
June 19, 2015 Read time: 3 mins
Investment bank 3347 Goldman Sachs will soon be sending out expressions of interest for backers to finance Australia’s biggest road deal, the three-stage WestConnex project to be rollout by the New South Wales government.

According to a report by The Australian newspaper, initially around US$1.17 billion will be needed for the first phase of the Sydney toll road project. The first phase will likely cost between nearly $2.35 billion and $3.9 billion.

Total cost of all three phases over 10 years could be as much as $11.6 billion and the 33kmk of new roads will connect the south-west and western parts of Sydney with the airport, city and port.

Among the Australian lenders expected to be interested in the public-private partnership are Commonwealth Bank, ANZ, Westpac and NAB.

The Australian reported that details will soon emerge surrounding traffic forecasts on the first phase, along with the award of construction contracts.

Exactly what shape the PPP contract will take remains to be seen. It is a sensitive issue, The Australian said, since the collapse of the two PPP toll projects in Sydney. Both Lane Cove Tunnel, a 3.6km twin-tunnel, and Cross City Tunnel, a 2.1km twin-tunnel, went into receivership when traffic forecasts proved inaccurate.

The Australian report said one PPP option is for a shadow toll, where construction company receives a payment per driver from the government.

Earlier this month 3260 World Highways reported that a joint venture featuring 4755 John Holland, 1026 Samsung C&T and 2685 Leighton Contractors had secured a deal to build and design Sydney’s M4 East motorway.

The M4 East is expected to be completed in 2019 when it will form part of a project to build the WestConnex road tunnel.

Last December, Duncan Gay, roads minister of New South Wales, announced changes to the third phase of the WestConnex motorway. Tunnel will be 8km, around 1km longer than initially planned.

However, the changes likely won’t add to the overall price tag for the project, according to the NSW government. The third stage would cover the route between Haberfield and St. Peters and be constructed between 2018 and 2023. The tunnel will be linked to two other large motorway tunnels that include an M4 extension to Harbefield and M5 East tunnel to St. Peters.

Works to build WestConnex will start next year with the $3.3 billion widening and extension of the M4 to four lanes each way from Parramatta to Haberfield, including a tunnel beneath-Parramatta Road.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Canada: work officially starts on Montreal’s Champlain Bridge
    June 25, 2015
    Canada’s infrastructure minister, Denis Label, officially broke ground for Montreal’s replacement Champlain Bridge, saying the project will likely cost US$3.42 billion. The 3.4km Champlain Bridge Corridor Project, including spans and highway expansions, is expected to be completed by 2019. SNC-Lavalin, the 50% stakeholder in the winning consortium Signature on the Saint-Lawrence, recently announced it had finalised the deal with new Champlain Bridge owner Infrastructure Canada. Signature on the Saint-
  • Lend Lease & Bouygues preferred tenderer for NorthConnex Motorway, Sydney
    March 25, 2014
    Bouygues Construction of France and Lend Lease Group (Lend Lease) of Australia have become preferred tenderer to design and build the US$2.71 billion (AUD 3 billion) NorthConnex motorway in Sydney. Comprising twin 9km tunnels that will connect the southern end of the M1 Motorway at Wahroonga to the Hills M2 Motorway at its Pennant Hills Road interchange, the NorthConnex motorway is pending for planning approval and finalisation of contract terms. Transurban and its partners in Westlink M7 said the projec
  • BAM, PGGM and Habau win German A10-A24 contract
    December 20, 2017
    A consortium of BAM-PGGM and HABAU has been appointed preferred bidder for extension of Germany’s A10-A24 motorway from Neuruppin to Pankow, near Brandenburg. The public-private partnership deal covering nearly 65km is worth around €1 billion over the 30 years of the contract, according to infrastructure project management company DEGES.
  • Philippine projects central to Southeast Asia infrastructure plan
    January 19, 2015
    Several major road works are among 15 public-private partnership projects in the Philippines tagged by the World Bank as essential for improving transport in Southeast Asia. The list includes the US$3.4 billion Plaridel Bypass toll road, the $354 million North Luzon Expressway East Expressway, the $171 million Central Luzon Link Expressway-Phase II, as well as the $52.5 million improvement, operation and maintenance of Kennon Road and Marcos Highway. All of the projects, which include major airport an