A DIF Capital Partners consortium has been awarded an A$11.1bn (€7bn) road transport project in Australia.

DIF said the Spark consortium, which comprises DIF Infrastructure VI (DIF VI), Capella Capital, John Laing, Pacific Partnerships, CPB Contractors, GS Engineering & Construction, WeBuild, China Construction Oceania and Ventia has won the bid to for the North East Link project in Melbourne.

North East Link will be the largest transport project in Victoria’s history and the largest public-private partnership (PPP) project in Australia. North East Link will be Victoria’s longest twin road tunnel, with three lanes and 6.5km in length.

DIF VI will own a 20% stake in the primary package PPP. The project will be delivered by a design and construction joint venture consisting of WeBuild, CPB Contractors, GS Engineering and China Construction Oceania. Operations and maintenance will be undertaken by Ventia.

Gijs Voskuyl, partner and head of investments for DIF VI, said: “DIF is excited to work with the North East Link Project Authority and alongside our leading Spark consortium members to deliver this critical missing link in Melbourne’s road network.

”The North East Link project will not only create thousands of local community jobs, it will also reduce congestion and remove significant freight transport from the existing suburban roads, and thereby significantly improving the liveability of the surrounding communities.”

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