When complete in 2023, WestConnex will provide motorists with a continuous, 33km traffic-light free motorway network, with connections for future projects linking the north shore and northern beaches, Sydney Airport and the southern suburbs. WestConnex is easing congestion, creating tens of thousands of jobs, and connecting communities.
In 2017, an ADIA subsidiary collaborated with well-aligned and proven partners – Transurban Group, AustralianSuper and Canada Pension Plan Investment Board – to participate in the process for the New South Wales (NSW) Government to privatise a 51% stake in WestConnex. The consortium, Sydney Transport Partners, was one of the several international groups interested in the asset.
As part of its bid, the consortium was required to conduct a detailed assessment of construction and traffic risks and seek the approval of competition and foreign investment regulatory bodies.
In August 2018, the NSW Government selected Sydney Transport Partners as the winning bidder for the 51% stake in the entities holding the WestConnex assets. The acquisition included three distinct toll road concessions, at different stages of development.
In addition to its investment in WestConnex, the ADIA subsidiary also participated in Transurban Group’s equity raising on the Australian Securities Exchange, highlighting an ability to participate actively in both listed and unlisted markets to support our partners. This also followed an earlier successful investment alongside Transurban Group in the Queensland Motorways network in Brisbane, Australia in 2014.
WestConnex is being constructed and opened in stages: The M4 (the new M4 tunnels and the widened M4) opened in July 2019 and includes 5.5km of tunnels and 7.5km of surface roads; the M8, comprising twin 9km tunnels from Kingsgrove to the new St Peters Interchange, opened in July 2020, and; the twin 7.5km tunnels of the M4–M5 Link which are due to open in 2023.
In a subsequent privatisation process in 2021, the Sydney Transport Partners consortium - which had expanded to include Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) - acquired the NSW Government’s 49% in WestConnex. Sydney Transport partners now holds 100% of WestConnex.
