Delivering the projects
On 19 May 2008 the State Government announced BrisConnections as the preferred bidder for Airport Link, Northern Busway (Windsor to Kedron) and the Airport Roundabout Upgrade projects.
BrisConnections is sponsored by Macquarie Capital Group, Thiess and John Holland.
Under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) BrisConnections will finance, design, construct, commission, operate and maintain Airport Link for a period of 45 years.
The contractor will also design and build the Windsor to Kedron section of the State-funded Northern Busway and the airport fly-over, before handing it back to the State to operate and maintain.
The combined projects will cost more than $4 billion to design and construct. Airport Link will cost $3.4 billion, the Windsor to Kedron busway section $444 million and the Airport Roundabout Upgrade $327 million (including all land, environmental approval and contract management costs).
The contract between the State Government and BrisConnections was signed on 2 June 2008.
On 30 July 2008 financial close was achieved enabling the Airport Link and Northern Busway (Windsor to Kedron) projects to enter the pre-construction phase. On this day, the Coordinator-General issued his final approval for Airport Link with the release of his Change Report.
Airport Link, Northern Busway (Windsor to Kedron) and the Airport Roundabout Upgrade are expected to be completed by mid 2012.
Background
Expressions of Interest in the projects were called in February 2007. Four groups expressed interest and in June 2007, the following groups were short-listed to bid for the projects:
- BrisConnections (Macquarie Capital Group, Thiess and John Holland)
- North Connect (Baulderstone Hornibrook, Abigroup, Bilfinger Berger Civil and Babcock & Brown)
- Northern Motorway (Leighton Contractors and ABN AMRO Australia).
The Queensland Government asked the three groups bidding for the Airport Link and Northern Busway (Windsor to Kedron) projects to consider solutions to address traffic congestion associated with the roundabout to improve traffic flow to and from the airport. All bidders submitted options for the roundabout.
Bids closed on 14 December 2007, followed by an extensive evaluation process. On 19 May 2008, the State Government announced BrisConnections as the preferred bidder for the three projects. Financial close was reached on 30 July 2008.
What is a PPP?
A Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is a contractual arrangement between Government and the private sector which harnesses the skills and capability of the private sector in designing, constructing, operating, maintaining and financing major infrastructure projects.
One of the key characteristics of a PPP is that the Government maintains control of the infrastructure by monitoring the private sector's performance.
The Government makes payments based on a performance regime and if necessary, can 'step-in' to ensure services are delivered.
A PPP brings new incentives to the private sector to deliver infrastructure as payments don't begin until the facilities are ready to operate.
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