A planning application has been lodged for the M5 tunnels to be built in Sydney, Australia as part of WestConnex Stage 2 project.
The tunnel will be built at St Peters, south of Sydney Park and Newtown, and will run from the existing M5 East corridor at Beverly Hills to St Peters.
Construction of the new tunnel will improve access to Port Botany, the airport and the precincts in south Sydney.
A part of WestConnex Stage 2 project, the tunnel is expected to have double the capacity to that of the M5 East and will have a total of six lanes.
The project will provide connection from the interchange to roads in Euston Road and across the canal to Bourke Road and Campbell Road/Street.
The project is backed by a $2bn concessional loan, along with additional funding of $1.5bn provided by the Australian Government, which has also helped fast-track the project by 18 months.
The New South Wales government is also investing $1.8bn towards the construction of the New M5 tunnel.
Work will begin in 2015 with King Georges Road Interchange upgrade and it is expected to create 10,000 jobs during construction.
The tender for the design and construction is yet to be issued, but three consortia have been shortlisted to provide design and carry out construction work.
Shortlisted consortia include Lend Lease Acciona joint venture (JV), Leighton Dragados Samsung JV and TunneLink, which consist of FerrovialAgroman, Ghella and McConnell Dowell Constructors.
The government also announced acquisition of a 16ha industrial site at St Peters, which is expected to be the key interchange for the motorway.
