World's best to compete for Capital Metro stage one

Two world-leading consortia have been shortlisted to deliver the first-stage of Canberra’s light rail network, which will deliver more than 3,500 jobs during construction and deliver more than $1 billion in benefits to the ACT economy, Minister for Capital Metro Simon Corbell announced.

The two consortia, ACTivate and Canberra Metro, contain some of the world’s biggest and most respected companies when it comes to delivering major infrastructure projects and operating successful public transport networks.

The successful consortia will now progress through to the request for proposals stage before a successful bidder is selected in early 2016 with construction to commence later that year.

“Following a strong industry response from local, national and international companies and detailed evaluation of the four expressions of interest, I am pleased to announce ACTivate and Canberra Metro have been shortlisted,” Mr Corbell said.

“The makeup of each consortium is reflective of the high level of interest and strong market appetite for the project. The strength of the four consortia to express interest in Capital Metro stage one is reflected by the obvious high quality of the two consortia that have been selected for the RFP stage.

“To have two consortia with such a high level of experience in international and national transport projects competing to deliver this transformative infrastructure project is a fantastic result for the ACT.

“The expression of interest stage required consortia to demonstrate their capability in meeting five core criteria. They were evaluated on their experience in successfully delivering comparable projects, ability to manage safety issues, demonstrated understanding of commercial and risk management matters, financial capacity as well as meeting and understanding the aspirations of the project.”

Some of the major projects and public transport systems built, managed and operated by the companies involved in the two shortlisted consortia include:

Capital Metro is the second major infrastructure project in the ACT to be delivered by a public private partnership. It will deliver a modern, world-class public transport system that will help prevent a projected 57-minute average commute by car between City and Gungahlin in 2031.

“By delivering this project through a public private partnership model, we can capitalise on the skills and knowledge of the private sector to deliver a world class light rail system befitting one of the world’s most liveable cities,” Mr Corbell said.

“Capital Metro stage one will support over 3,500 jobs during construction. These jobs will create new opportunities for local businesses and significant economic benefit for the whole of Canberra.”

Capital Metro has a local industry policy to encourage Canberra region companies to become involved in the project and the ACT Government will arrange information sessions between local businesses and both consortia in coming months.

The RFP will be issued to the shortlisted respondents in April 2015. The selection of a successful bidder to design, construct, operate, maintain and finance the light rail service from the City to Gungahlin will occur in 2016, with construction to commence later that year.