Consortium selected for North East Link tunnels

Artist's impression of the North East Link tunnel. — Artist’s impression of the North East Link twin tunnel. Image courtesy of Victoria’s Big Build.

Spark, a consortium comprising WeBuild, GS Engineering and Construction, CPB Contractors, China Construction Oceania, Ventia, Capella Capital, John Laing Investments, DIF and Pacific Partnerships, has been selected as the preferred bidder to deliver the tunnelling package for North East Link project in Melbourne.

The selection by the Victorian Government follows a worldwide search for constructing the twin three-lane tunnels and key interchanges since late 2018, with the tunnelling work estimated to cost $7-9 billion.

The bidders included some of the biggest construction companies in Australia and globally, with the other shortlisted consortia comprising names such as John Holland Group, Acciona Construction and Samsung C&T Corporation.

Once constructed, the twin tunnels between Lower Plenty Road and Bridge Street will be Victoria’s longest twin road tunnels. The top of the tunnels would be at least 15 metres under residential properties and at least 20 metres under the Yarra River bed. At their deepest point, the the tunnels would be about 40 metres underground.

Along with building the twin tunnels, the selected contractor will also design the entire project, including its new interchanges, freeway upgrades and paths for pedestrians and cyclists.

Victorian Minister for Transport Infrastructure, Jacinta Allan, and Federal Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts, Paul Fletcher, today announced Spark as the preferred bidder, with Minister Fletcher noting this was an important step for Victoria’s biggest road project.

“The North East Link is a significant road project that will create thousands of local jobs, cut travel times for commuters and freight and take trucks off local roads, improving congestion and safety particularly for communities in Melbourne’s northern and eastern suburbs,” the Minister said.

“This project is one of many critical infrastructure projects to receive funding from the Morrison Government as part of its record $110 billion, 10-year infrastructure investment pipeline, which is helping to drive Australia’s world-leading economic recovery.”

The $15.8 billion North East Link is Victoria’s largest ever road project, linking the M80 to an upgraded Eastern Freeway. It will create more than 10,000 jobs, take 15,000 trucks off local roads and slash travel times for up to 135,000 motorists.

CPB Contractors was selected in September 2019 to deliver the $195 million package of early works on the project, which includes the design, development and removal, relocation and/or protection of utility services including 220 KV transmission towers, other electrical assets, telecommunication assets, water and sewerage assets, and drainage and gas pipelines.

The tunnelling package will be delivered as a Public Private Partnership. The Victorian Government will work with the preferred bidder to negotiate a final contract and finalise the concept design for North East Link, expected to be shared with the community before the end of the year.

Once the tunnelling package is awarded, the project will go out to market for other key elements of North East Link including a massive overhaul of the Eastern Freeway, Melbourne’s first dedicated busway, the completion of the M80 Ring Road and more than 25 kilometres of new and upgraded walking and cycling paths.

Construction on the tunnelling package will begin after contract award later in the year. North East Link is expected to open to traffic in 2027.