CPB-Ghella wins $1.8bn Sydney Metro - Western Sydney Airport contract

Before the end of 2021, New South Wales’ massive Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport project marked a major milestone with the award of a $1.8 billion contract to deliver the new twin rail tunnels. 

The joint venture between CIMIC Group company CPB Contractors and Ghella has been awarded the more than one-billion-dollar contract for the Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport Station Boxes and Tunnelling Works (WSA-SBT). 

“This is a strategic transport investment that will generate long lasting benefits for the people of Western Sydney and provide a significant boost to jobs during construction. CPB Contractors is already involved in the construction of the Western Sydney International Airport and the Sydney Metro City & Southwest project and will apply this experience to safely deliver this link,” CIMIC Group Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Juan Santamaria said. 

“We are pleased to have been selected by the NSW Government to deliver another vital project for Western Sydney. Our tunnelling teams are very experienced in delivering transport infrastructure in Sydney and will apply CPB Contractors’ expertise, gained delivering major projects across Australia, to maximise employment and training opportunities for local workers,” CPB Contractors Managing Director Jason Spears said. 

This package of works will involve the design and construction of the 9.8-kilometre twin tunnels as well as the excavation for the new stations at St Marys, Orchard Hills, Airport Terminal Station, Aerotropolis Station along with service facilities at Bringelly and Claremont Meadows. 

Site establishment and preparatory works are anticipated to commence in the coming months, with the first of four mega tunnel boring machines to break ground in early 2023. 

“Today’s announcement marks a significant milestone in the delivery of this transformational transport project, which will connect communities and passengers to the new Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport and surrounding Aerotropolis. 

“We’re getting on with the jobs of delivering transformational infrastructure projects across Western Sydney that boost economic growth, support local jobs and enhance the liveability of the region,” Federal Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts Paul Fletcher MP said. 

The WSA-SBT contract will include: 

• 9.8 kilometres of twin tunnels in two sections. The 4.3-kilometre northern tunnels run from St Marys to Orchard Hills and the 5.5-kilometre southern section of tunnels runs between the Airport Business Park and the Aerotropolis Station 
• Excavation and civil works for new stations at St Marys, Orchard Hills, Western Sydney International (Nancy-Bird Walton) Airport, and Aerotropolis 
• Four hard rock Tunnel Boring Machines (TBM) 
• Building one of the two temporary precast concrete factories for the project on the Western Sydney International site 
• Two TBM launch sites at Orchard Hills and Western Sydney International and two TBM retrieval sites at St Marys and Aerotropolis Station 

Following the completion of tunnelling works in late 2024, works will continue to lay tracks and to fit out the new metro stations. 

“This new city-shaping infrastructure will be a major boost for Greater Western Sydney – becoming the transport spine for this growing region. 

“This region is transforming before our eyes, with substantial government investment helping our collective vision for the Western Sydney Parkland City to take shape and deliver a liveable, sustainable and innovative place to live for years to come,” NSW Minister for Transport and Veterans and Member for Baulkham Hills David Elliott MP said. 

Project alignment (source: Sydney Metro)

The Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport project will deliver a 23-kilometre driverless rail line that will connect residential areas to major jobs hubs including the new Aerotropolis and provide a link between the new airport and the rest of Sydney’s public transport system. 

The project will also deliver six new metro stations at St Marys, Orchard Hills, Luddenham as well as within the airport site – passenger terminal and airport business park – and the commercial heart of the future Western Sydney Aerotropolis, which is proposed to be named Bradfield. 

In addition, this massive transport infrastructure project will help boost the state and national economies through the creation of thousands of jobs during its construction. 

“The new Sydney Metro – Western Sydney Airport metro line will support 14,000 direct new jobs and drive major economic stimulus for Western Sydney. 

“The tunnelling contract will require a broad range of skills including specialist tunnellers, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, concrete workers, truck drivers, labourers and security guards,” NSW Minister for Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney Stuart Ayres said. 

Source: CPB Contractors, CIMIC Group; Minister for Communications, Urban Infrastructure, Cities and the Arts; Sydney Metro (1, 2)