Melbourne Metro Tunnel Project Agreement
In January 2017, the Melboure Metro Tunnel project became a priority project in the list of infrastructure priorities. The project comes in the form of five separate factory packages, including: “This is an important and exciting project and we are extremely proud to be working with Cross Yarra Partnership,” said Urs Meyerhans, CEO of Coffey. The work includes major tunnel construction, five metro stations, station layouts, mechanical and electrical systems, as well as specific maintenance services for the infrastructure provided by the package and commercial opportunities at the new stations. Work on PPP packet tunnels and stations began in 2018. A multi-billion dollar public-private partnership (PPP) includes the design and construction of two nine-kilometre-long tunnels and five metro stations, private financing and the provision of maintenance and other services during operating life. The Melbourne Metro Project will provide a new rail line over Melbourne CBD, with two nine-kilometre-long tunnels and five new metro stations in Arden, Parkville, CBD North, CBD South and Domain. The project will stretch trains independently of the City Loop and increase the capacity of Melbourne`s rail network. On the line, sixty-five new high-performance metro trains will run. A PPP model promotes innovation, best practices and optimal value for money for the project.
In an “availability PPP,” the government makes regular payments to the private party to make the asset “available” for use. For this package, this means making available the tunnel and stations for public transport and Victorians. The $6 billion public-private partnership (PPP) is the largest construction package for the metro tunnel and will provide the 9 kilometres of double tunnels under the CBD and the five new metro stations. The PPP availability contract with Cross Yarra Partnership – consisting of Lendlease Engineering, John Holland, Bouygues Construction and Capella Capital – was concluded in December 2017. Coffey offers specialized geotechnical and hydrogeological services for the project. These include additional geotechnical studies and tests to establish definitive geotechnical interpretation reports that inform the detailed station and tunnel project. It will also help select tunnellers and build stations under Swanston Street. Coffey will also implement an extensive program of hydrogeological groundwater drilling and study studies to support the planning and installation of groundwater controls throughout the project. Rail system and rail infrastructure packages are purchased through separate competitive alliance procedures, in which direct price competition is assessed with non-cheap criteria. Members of both alliances will generally be made up of the state, rail operators and designers and will work as an integrated collaborative team to address important project management issues in good faith, act with integrity and make project-appropriate decisions. The State Library Station OSD is developed by a joint venture between John Holland and Scape, an innovative provider of student housing.
The development will be a mixed-use project, including student housing and other housing near RMIT University, as well as co-work and educational institutions, retailers and other complementary institutions.
