Sydney orbital contract secured

A joint venture between Leighton Holdings and Abigroup has officially secured NSW's biggest single road construction contract, the $1.5 billion Western Sydney Orbital (WSO) tollway.

The joint venture, called WestLink Motorway, had already emerged as frontrunner for the design-and-construct contract, but official contract documents were signed recently.

Leighton and Abigroup said they would open the WSO to traffic in 2007, and oversee all ongoing maintenance and some operational aspects of the electronically tolled 40 kilometre motorway.

"This work will be carried out during the concession period which extends to 34 years from the financial close date," the partners said.

The orbital will connect with three existing Sydney motorways, the M2, M4 and M5, and involves construction of 17 interchanges, at least 170 bridges and improvements to many major local roads.

Leighton and Abigroup said a detailed design was currently underway and several construction teams had been formed to plan and undertake logistics related to the project.