Herald Sun: East West Link. 13 February 2015
The $6.8 billion tollway is unlikely to be built but taxpayers want to know whether or not compensation will be paid after Premier Daniel Andrews in December instructed work on the project be stopped.
Last month it was reported that the Andrews Government was negotiating a “settlement” – which could be as much as $1.2 billion – with the international consortium that was to have built the 6.6km road from the Eastern Freeway to CityLink, Parkville, despite the Premier’s pre-election pledge that “there will be no compensation paid”.
Mr Andrews has recently refused to say whether the contract impasse will be resolved before the May Budget.
The East West Link contract was signed between the previous Napthine government and the East West Connect consortium last September.
It was also revealed last month a letter was signed by the Coalition guaranteeing compensation clauses in the road project’s contract, even if the Supreme Court found the contract were invalid.
An 18km cross-city road connecting the Eastern Freeway and the western suburbs was first touted in a report by businessman Sir Rid Eddington in April 2008.
The Baillieu government in May 2012 committed $15 million to start work on a bussiness case for the East West Link project.
