North East Link project rocked by allegations of bribery, corruption
The $26bn North East Link has been hit with new allegations of bribery and corruption, with the mega toll road project rocked by an explosive cash for contract scandal.
The $26 billion North East Link has been rocked by fresh allegations of bribery and corruption.
The allegations include that a superintendent on the mega toll road project demanded $5000 from up to 150 workers to secure them work, in an explosive cash for contract scandal.
It is understood the senior manager was stood down late last week on an unrelated matter, which was being investigated by the project’s builders.
But allegations of Big Build bribery were later aired by Seven News Melbourne, and the probe into the superintendent has now widened.
Superintendents are key figures on major construction projects and are involved in the day-to-day management of work sites.
The claims were reported to Victoria Police by the Victorian Infrastructure Development Authority, and will be assessed by a taskforce — called Operation Hawk — set up to examine criminal infiltration in the construction industry.
A VIDA spokesperson said the allegations had not previously been reported to is by contractors, but were now set to be tested by authorities.
“We have zero tolerance for any sort of illegal behaviour – anyone with information about alleged misconduct on our worksites should come forward so it can be referred to the appropriate authority,” they said.
The North East Link, which will connect the M80 in Greensborough to the Eastern Freeway in Bulleen via a tunnel and toll road, is more than halfway through construction and is scheduled to open in 2028.
It was budgeted at $15.8bn but blew out by an eye-watering $10.4bn following Covid-19 construction chaos and price hikes.
In recent weeks it has been hit by separate allegations that gangland figures had demanded kickbacks for work on the project.
Last year, the Herald Sun revealed allegations that the CFMEU had coerced project builders, made up of construction giants WeBuild, GS Engineering and Construction, CPB, and China Construction Oceania, to hire casuals from favoured subcontractors who earned up to $300,000 a year.
