By Lucille Keen, Australian Financial Review, Thursday, November 28, 2013, Page : 6
Unsuccessful bidders on Melbourne’s East West Link toll road will get up to $12 million each for retention by the Victorian government of the intellectual property of their designs.
The payments will reimburse some of the bid costs. It is hoped by buying the rights to the two unsuccessful designs, the state government can incorporate any elements in the $8 billion project.
Victorian Treasurer Michael O’Brien said reimbursing costs helped attract and drive strong competition, resulting in a lower total project cost. He said by securing the intellectual property of unsuccessful bidders, there was potential to incorporate it in the final design.
Three consortiums, East West Connect, which includes LendLease, Inner Link Group, which includes Transfield Services and Macquarie Capital,
and Momentum Infrastructure, which includes Leighton Holdings subsidiaries John Holland and Leighton Contractors, were shortlisted in September.
Reimbursement is a government incentive to lure the private sector into investing in the state’s infrastructure projects after several financial failures such as Sydney’s Cross City Tunnel and Brisbane’s Airport Link tollroad
Securing the consortium’s design work in a public-private partnership bid is the first for the state and part of their PPP reforms,
announced in May.
