Sydney Metro Project: 2.8 Billion Dollar Tunnelling Contract awarded

Construction of new twin metro rail tunnels will begin deep under Sydney Harbour and the

heart of the central business district CBD after a major tunnelling contract was awarded by the New South Wales (NSW) Government on June 22, 2017.

The 2.81 billion Australian dollar (1.92 billion euros) contract has been awarded to a joint venture of John Holland (45 %), CPB Contractors (45 %) and Ghella (10 %), to deliver twin 15.5 km tunnels and associated civil works on Stage 2 (City & Southwest) of the Sydney Metro project – Australia’s biggest public transport project. The JV will start work immediately to get the first of five tunnel boring machines (TBMs) in the ground by the end of 2018.

Design and construction works under the Tunnel and Station Excavation Works contract include:

Twin 15.5 kilometre tunnels from Chatswood to Sydenham travelling under Sydney
Harbour and the CBD

57 cross passages approximately every 240 m and a temporary access shaft at Blues Point

Tunnel launch sites at Chatswood and Marrickville

Excavation of six new underground metro stations at Crows Nest, Victoria Cross, Barangaroo, Martin Place, Pitt Street and Waterloo

A crossover cavern at Barangaroo to allow trains to cross from one track to another

Design and manufacture of about 99 000 precast concrete segments to line the tunnels

The completion of the tunnel contract is expected in mid-2021. Stage 2 of Sydney Metro is scheduled to be put into operation in 2024.