AUSTRALIA: The start of tendering for a contract to build a 15·5 km twin-bore metro tunnel from Chatswood to Sydenham running under Sydney Harbour and the city centre was announced by New South Wales Minister for Transport & Infrastructure Andrew Constance on April 13.
This is the most important civil works contracts for the 30 km Sydney Metro City & Southwest project. Constance told 450 representatives from 250 companies at an industry briefing that the government expects to award the contract in mid-2017, with five tunnel boring machines to begin work by the end of 2018. Opening is planned for 2024.
The Sydney Metro is being built in two phases. Tunnelling for the first phase known as Sydney Metro Northwest was completed in January, and opening of the Cudgegong Road – Chatswood route is planned for the first half of 2019.
Sydney Metro City & Southwest is the second phase, which will extend the line from Chatswood to Bankstown using 16·5 km of new alignment including the tunnel to Sydenham and 13·4 km of existing tracks which are to be rebuilt to metro standards.
