Melbourne, Victoria - 07 January 2021 — As the Melbourne City Loop celebrates its 40th birthday, global infrastructure provider Webuild has pointed to the project as a prime example of the role visionary infrastructure projects have played, and will continue to play, in maintaining Victoria’s prosperity and liveability.

Marco Assorati, Executive Director APAC at Webuild, said the business’ association with Victoria stretched to the 1970s when it led the construction of the Melbourne City Loop, which this month celebrated the 40th anniversary of the first test train to roll through the tunnel back on 4 December 1980.

Marco said Victoria’s success in planning for the future had helped it maintain its title as one of the world’s most liveable cities.

“Over the past 50 years, major infrastructure projects have redefined land markets, housing markets and labour markets and fundamentally reshaped metropolitan Melbourne, playing a crucial role in the city’s transformation into a leading knowledge intensive economy”, he said.

“Road projects such as the Western Ring Road, CityLink and EastLink have helped to improve connectivity and accessibility across Melbourne, and when the City Loop opened in the 1980s, the heavy rail capacity it provided underpinned jobs growth and steady development within central Melbourne”.

“The high standard of living now enjoyed by residents is the result of the ability of State Governments to anticipate their constituents’ needs; no small feat given how these needs have changed as the population has grown over the past half century”, said Marco.

He also pointed to the allocation of $2.2 billion in last month’s state budget for preliminary works on the Suburban Rail Loop project as evidence of the Andrews Government’s genuine commitment to its long-term infrastructure vision for the state.

“The Suburban Rail Loop is a truly visionary infrastructure project,” Marco said. “It will revolutionise Melbourne’s public transport network and provide significant value for generations to come, especially for those living and working in Melbourne’s middle and outer suburbs”. 

“By decentralising Melbourne’s rail network and connecting rail stations and metro lines, it will reduce congestion and take pressure off the transport network, including the City Loop”, said Marco. “Similar projects can be found in other major global cities, such as the Grand Paris Express in Paris, or the Cityringen metro line built by the Webuild Group in Copenhagen”.

The Suburban Rail Loop will help take an estimated 200,000 vehicles off the city’s streets every day by 2051, reducing emissions, while more than 20,000 jobs are expected to be created during its construction.