Melbourne s East West Link comes to a halt

Melbourne’s East West Link comes to a haltThe Victorian Government has reached an in-principle agreement with the East West Link consortium to cancel the road project’s contracts. The final cost of the project is estimated to be over $0 million dollars covering the bid process, project design, early construction costs, land acquisitions, the establishment of funding vehicles and a variety of legal expenses.The Victorian Government announced the heads of agreement with the consortium and confirmed that the East West Link road project would not proceed last week. Premier Daniel Andrews said the agreement was “the best possible result we could have achieved.”The Andrews Government has been criticised by the Federal Government for its decision to scrap the East West Link project.The Property Council’s Victorian executive director, Jennifer Cunich, acknowledged “the resolution of the destructive and costly debate surrounding the East West Link contract”.”This unfortunate saga highlights the importance of establishing a non-political infrastructure advisory authority such as Infrastructure Victoria,” Cunich said.”If structured correctly, Infrastructure Victoria will help avoid the politicisation of major projects by establishing a clear list of must-build projects that enjoy widespread professional support.”We encourage both sides of politics to work together on creating a sustainable Infrastructure Victoria model in the state’s long-term interests.”