The Bunbury Outer Ring Road will be designed and built by the Southwest Connex consortium, which comprises Acciona, local company NRW Contracting, Maca Civil, Aecom and Aurecon. The team will now enter into negotiations with Main Roads Western Australia prior to the contract award, which is likely to take place in September.
Construction of the AU$852m (£465m) project is due to begin early next year - subject to environmental and heritage approvals - and is expected to create thousands of local jobs.
Western Australia (WA) transport minister Rita Saffioti said that it is the biggest infrastructure project ever undertaken in regional WA. "During construction, Bunbury Outer Ring Road will provide thousands of direct and indirect employment opportunities, benefiting the state and local community,” she said. “This project will deliver huge benefits for the economy, both during its construction and once in operation and I'm pleased to see a local WA company play such a big role in its construction.
"Maximising local business procurement and Aboriginal participation are key objectives for the project and we have set a target of approximately $300 million to be allocated to local businesses to subcontract on the project.”
Deputy prime minister and minister for infrastructure, transport and regional development Michael McCormack said this was just one of the major infrastructure projects planned for the region. “The Bunbury Outer Ring Road project has been planned for a number of years, recognising the significance of delivering vital infrastructure to provide a safer and more efficient road system for the South West of Western Australia,” he said. “Bunbury Outer Ring Road will provide relief for local residents by removing freight and regional traffic from local roads while maintaining easy access to Bunbury and other regional destinations.”
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