Leighton closes in on Pacific highway

A Leighton Contractors and Fulton Hogan joint venture has been given preferred bidder status by the New South Wales Roads and Traffic Authority (NSWRTA) for a AUD$ 698 million (US$ 629 million) design and construct contract to upgrade the Sapphire to Woolgoolga section of the Pacific Highway in Australia.

General manager of the construction division of Leighton Contractors, Peter Handel said, "Today's announcement by the NSWRTA is very significant for the company in New South Wales.

"Our experience on other Pacific Highway alliance projects now underway at Ballina and Kempsey means we are ideally placed to work with Fulton Hogan to achieve best value and excellent results on the Sapphire to Woolgoolga upgrade over the next three years."

A statement issued by Leighton Holdings to the Australian Securities Exchange said the joint venture team will now work with the NSWRTA to finalise commercial arrangements and sign contracts.

Work is expected to start in the second half of this year and will involve the design and construction of 25 km of divided dual carriageway, a local road network to enable local traffic to travel through the area without using the Pacific Highway and five new interchanges. The project will also involve the construction of 30 new or replacement bridges, under-passes and over-passes.