On Friday, 1 May, the Andrews government announced it had entered negotiations with Transurban to deliver the “Western Distributor”, a $5.5 billion piece of infrastructure that revives a portion of the scrapped East West Link. The project would follow a route similar to the western half of the East West Link proposal.

“Master Builders welcomes major engineering construction plans, like today’s Western Distributor proposal, that should begin to address the alarming shortage of infrastructure projects facing Victoria. Whilst this new proposal is a good step, converting this plan into a shovel-ready project should now be the priority of the Andrews government,” Master Builders Association of Victoria CEO Radley de Silva said.

“We have been calling for projects of this scale to begin and we are encouraged by the estimated commencement at the end of this year and completion by late 2020.

“The timing of these works is critical not only for the utility they provide the residents of Victoria, but for the fact that engineering construction projects are at a five-year low. We urge the Andrews government to assess the scheme in a timely way and finalise it in a responsible manner that benefits taxpayers, provides the much needed alternative river crossing to the West Gate Bridge and reduces congestion on the roads.

“As the second-largest full-time employer, generating considerable taxes and output for the Victorian economy, the continued strength of the building and construction industry is essential. Master Builders is made hopeful by Transurban’s estimate that this proposal could generate 3500 construction jobs and 4500 indirect jobs.

“We await further details such as the funding, planning and timeliness of this project,” Mr de Silva said.