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West Gate Tunnel funding secured

 

The Victorian parliament voted down an opposition motion to exclude the West Gate Tunnel from the CityLink Concession Deed by a margin of 22-18.

An exposure draft of the West Gate Tunnel Bill and CityLink Concession Deed was released in 2017 when contracts were signed for the West Gate Tunnel Project.

The government said The West Gate Tunnel Bill and amendments to the CityLink Concession Deed would provide a fairer tolling regime for Victorians and remove historical clauses that would see Transurban compensated for State projects that divert traffic off its network.

Infrastructure Partnerships Australia Chief Executive Officer Adrian Dwyer said he is glad to see parliament commit to funding agreements for the West Gate Tunnel project.

“Victorians rightly expect their elected representatives to be focused on delivering good infrastructure outcomes, not political point scoring.

“Any decision to change funding arrangements for a project where an agreed contract is already in place would have put a wrecking ball through Victoria’s investment reputation,” he said.

Mr. Dwyer said with Melbourne’s population estimated to grow by three million in the next 30 years Victoria needs more infrastructure not less.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the state desperately needs a second river crossing as it only takes one crash to turn the West Gate Bridge into a car park.

“The Westgate Tunnel will slash travel times, create thousands of jobs and get trucks off local streets in Melbourne’s west,” he said.


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