Contractors selected to tender for building Subiaco underground stn

26/7/96

The State Government has selected four contractors to tender for the construction work on the new $42 million underground railway station at Subiaco.

Planning Minister Richard Lewis said the undergrounding of the railway was the major infrastructure project at the heart of the Subiaco redevelopment project, known as Subi Centro.

Mr Lewis said Thiess Contractors, Transfield Construction in consortium with Barclay Mowlem Construction, John Holland Construction & Engineering and Multiplex Construction had been short-listed after a call for expressions of interest.

Each company had been invited to submit tenders for the design and construction of the railway station and tunnel. The contract was expected to be awarded in December.

"Undergrounding the railway is a central element to the redevelopment project," Mr Lewis said.

"It will allow new roads, footpaths and cycleways to be constructed to link the new development with Rokeby Road, the traditional heart of Subiaco."

The undergrounding project will see the railway line between Haydn Bunton Drive and Hay Street Subway moved 50 metres to the north and lowered six metres. The tunnel will be eight metres wide and 800 metres long.

Construction of the massive project should commence in March 1997 and be completed by early 1999.

Mr Lewis said the undergrounding of the railway was the back bone of the entire Subi Centro project.

"It will remove a physical barrier which restricts access to Subiaco and has hampered the development of its core area of activity," he said.

Media contact: Bronwyn Hillman 222 9595, 221 1377