NSW government to sell remaining WestConnex stake
The cash-strapped NSW government will sell its remaining stake in the multibillion-dollar WestConnex motorway.
Treasurer Dominic Perrottet announced on Friday the government intended to sell the remaining 49 per cent of the 33-kilometre motorway after an extensive scoping study which began in March this year.
The second stage of WestConnex opened to Sydney motorists in July.Credit:Steven Siewert
A consortium led by tolling giant Transurban purchased the majority share of WestConnex in 2018 for just over $9.2 billion.
Mr Perrottet said money generated from the sale of the remaining stake would be used to fund government infrastructure projects and other capital works.
"Proceeds from any potential transaction will be invested into the NSW Generations Fund and allow us to continue to build world-class infrastructure such as the Metro West train line from Sydney to Parramatta," he said in a statement.
Mr Perrottet in July said the government would not sell its 49 per cent stake unless it "gives us substantial return" and was in the best interests of the people of NSW.
NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet says the government will sell its remaining stake in WestConnex.Credit:Rhett Wyman
He said at the time that despite a significant drop in traffic on Sydney's toll roads since the coronavirus outbreak, he believed WestConnex would remain attractive to prospective buyers due to its relative long-term financial stability.
The first stage of the $16.8 billion dollar road project, the M4 East opened to traffic in mid 2019 before the M8 – a duplication of the M5 between Kingsgrove and St Peters – opened in July this year.
The remaining third stage, linking the M4 and M5 between Haberfield and St Peters, is slated to open in 2023.
Under the terms of the 2018 acquisition, the Transurban consortium has the "right of first offer" if the government decides to sell its minority stake in the three-staged project.
IFM Investors, which bid unsuccessfully for the 51 per cent share, has been cited as an obvious competitor.
The NSW government was forced to walk away from its plans to privatise state-owned Forestry Corporation's softwood forests after the summer's bushfires inflicted hundreds of millions of dollars damage to the asset.
Tom Rabe is Transport Reporter with The Sydney Morning Herald.