Melbourne’s long-awaited airport rail link has hit a speed bump, with new contracts unable to be signed until after a national review.
Victoria and other states have been told they cannot ink contracts for projects in the federal government’s $120 billion infrastructure pipeline review without expressed permission.
It means those the state government is close to awarding contracts for, including the multibillion dollar Melbourne Airport Rail project, will be stuck in limbo until after the 90-day review period.
Works on airport rail and joint projects caught up in the review will continue until the end of their current works packages, which vary from case to case.
Construction workers may be temporarily redeployed to other government projects while the review is under way.
Premier Daniel Andrews guaranteed no workers would lose their jobs but apologised for the inconvenience.
He said the move by the federal government to freeze the signing of contracts was perfectly logical during the review.
“It’s a 90-day review. Let’s wait and see what it says,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
The project connecting the city to Tullamarine was originally due to be completed by 2029, with new stations and a sky rail bridge to be built.
The Victorian and federal governments had previously each committed to contributing $5 billion towards the project, which is expected to cost between $8b and $13b.
A Melbourne Airport spokesman said the timing and delivery of the project was a matter for government and it was awaiting further clarity.
“Melbourne Airport remains a strong supporter of a rail link to the city,” he said.
The infrastructure pipeline review will be led by former department secretary Mike Mrdak, Infrastructure Australia acting board member Clare Gardiner-Barnes and former senior West Australian transport bureaucrat Reece Waldock.
Federal election commitments and projects under major construction are exempt from the review, including state Labor’s contentious Suburban Rail Loop.
The 26-kilometre first stage of the Melbourne rail loop from Cheltenham to Box Hill is in early works but Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledged $2.2b to the project if Labor won last year’s poll, making it a federal election promise.
Treasurer Tim Pallas said his federal Labor colleagues were entitled to satisfy themselves of the merits of projects signed off on by the former Morrison government, including Melbourne Airport Rail.
“We believe that Melbourne Airport Rail is a good project and we’ll continue to advocate for it,” he said.
Source: AAP
