More than 100 local and international companies have registered their interest to take part in the construction of the Melbourne Airport Rail Link (MARL), and the State Government has named key advisors for the project.
A joint venture of Aurecon, Jacobs and Mott MacDonald has been named technical advisor for the project, which will build a rail connection from the CBD to Melbourne Airport via Sunshine.
In a statement from the Premier’s Office the government cited the members of the AJM joint venture’s track record on projects like London’s Crossrail, Sydney Metro Northwest, Auckland’s City Rail Link, and the Metro Tunnel project in Melbourne.
The joint venture has begun site investigations along the proposed MARL corridor as part of early planning work.
Meanwhile, KPMG has been appointed as a commercial advisor for the project.
“We are not wasting a minute in getting this project planned, designed and delivered,” Premier Daniel Andrews said on December 13.
“The Melbourne Airport Rail Link is the next step in our transformation of Victoria’s public transport network and a key part of the Suburban Rail Loop.”
“The Airport Rail Link will benefit all Victorians,” added transport infrastructure minister Jacinta Allan, “delivering a new super hub at Sunshine and paving the way for fast rail to the regions.”
The state selected the Sunshine route for MARL after a strategic appraisal found it performed better than alternatives via Maribyrnong, Flemington and Craigieburn.
The Federal Government, which has committed $5 billion to the project, came out in favour of the Sunshine route in late November.
Development of a detailed business case is underway, with the project set to begin construction by 2022. Next steps include stakeholder engagement work to help inform the business case, and further detailed planning.
The Registrations of Interest phase of the project resulted in more than 100 registrations from companies around the country, and around the world.
Rail Projects Victoria, which led the RoI program, said “more than 100 high calibre local and government organisations” from design, engineering, construction and finance sectors were keen to take part.