Govt still wants private investment in bypass: budget

The Federal Government is willing to stump up the $1.3bn required for the Second Range Crossing – but wants to test the market with a private partnership first.

INFRASTRUCTURE Minister Ian Macfarlane said the Federal Government is willing to stump up the $1.3bn required for the Second Range Crossing - but it wants to test the market with a private partnership first.

In the budget handed down tonight, $700m has been set aside for the project, enough to fulfil Mr Macfarlane's election promise to Groom. A total of $1.285b is available by 2018 - 19.

However, Mr Macfarlane said the 80-20 funding agreement with the state government, made in January - including $1.3bn from the federal and $342m from the state government - would only go ahead if no appropriate public-private partnership eventuated.

"We have said, to assure people, that if the money doesn't come from a public-private partnership, the money will come from the government.

"It's always been the intention of the Commonwealth to test this as a public private partnership."

Originally published as Govt still wants private investment in bypass: budget