The Terra Verde joint venture (JV) has secured an A$1.7bn ($1.12bn) contract to construct the northern section of twin tunnels connecting Glen Waverley and Box Hill for the Suburban Rail Loop (SRL) East project in Melbourne, Australia.
Composed of major companies including Webuild, GS Engineering and Construction, and Bouygues Construction Australia, the JV has expertise in projects, including Melbourne’s Metro Tunnel, North East Link, and the Grand Paris Express.
It is led by Webuild with a stake of 33.5%.
Under the new contract, the Terra Verde JV will excavate two parallel 10km tunnels, which will be bored using tunnel boring machines (TBMs) set to launch from Burwood in 2026.
The TBMs will progress southward to Glen Waverley before redirecting north towards Box Hill. The contract also includes the construction of 39 cross passages, two station boxes, two tunnel access shafts, and a ventilation and intervention shaft.
Designed to form a 90km orbital rail line around Melbourne, the Suburban Rail Loop project is expected to improve transport for over 80% of the city’s population and reduce congestion by taking more than 600,000 cars off the roads each day.
SRL East is the first stage of the Australian orbital rail line project and is expected to take trains with passengers in 2035.
Early construction has already started across all six station sites and the train stabling facility in Heatherton. Major works are scheduled to begin at the Clayton SRL station and transport hub in the coming weeks.
Overall, SRL East, stretching from Cheltenham to Box Hill, is expected to generate up to 8,000 jobs, with over 1,500 personnel already engaged.
This latest contract represents the second major tunnelling contract for SRL East, following the southern section contract granted last year.
The Victorian Government said in a statement: “SRL will not only deliver faster, more reliable travel for Victorians, it will help deliver thousands more homes exactly where they’re needed – right next door to jobs, services, and world-class public transport.”
