Four groups have been chosen by the New South Wales state government in Australia to bid for the US$438M Lane Cove road tunnel in Sydney.
The four are: Lane Cove Motorway consortium comprising Leighton Contractors and Deutsche Bank; Lane Cove Expressway consortium that includes Bilfinger+Berger, its Australian subsidiary Baulderstone Hornibrook, the Commonwealth Bank and Transurban Infrastructure Developments from Victoria; TunnelLink involving Japan’s Obayashi Corporation, Hills Motorway, Macquarie Bank and Abigroup; Lane Cove Tunnel consortium including Thiess, Transfield and ABN Amro.
The four will be whittled down to two before detailed proposals are submitted for the 30 year concession to build-own-operate-transfer the 3.4km road tunnel. The link will run from the Gore Hill freeway to the M2 highway in the north-east of Sydney.
The state government hopes to start work on the tunnel next year with completion in 2006. The cost has climbed by US$145M and construction extended by an extra two years after the government expanded the project last year.
