GS E&C

On the 24th, GS E&C announced that it held a traditional smoking ceremony at the North East Link (NEL) road construction site in Melbourne, Australia, to mark the commencement of the project and pray for its safety ahead of the launch of the Tunnel Boring Machine (TBM). The ceremony was attended by GS E&C CEO Huh Yoon Hong, along with representatives from the client, project partners, and key stakeholders.

The TBM method, a highly efficient technique that uses large machinery to excavate circular tunnels, marks the official start of full-scale construction. This approach offers several benefits, including reduced vibration and noise levels, as well as enhanced safety, with excavation being carried out by machinery rather than manual labor. For this project, GS E&C will use the TBM to excavate a 6.5 km tunnel.

The NEL road construction project is particularly significant as it marks GS E&C’s first venture into the Australian infrastructure market. The project is being carried out as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP), a collaborative model that brings together the public and private sectors to deliver large-scale infrastructure.

The NEL project involves the construction of a 6.5 km tunnel linking Melbourne's northeastern outer ring road to the eastern road. The total project cost is estimated at 10.1 trillion Korean Won. The project consortium includes GS E&C, Capella, John Laing, DIF, Pacific Partnerships, and Webuild, with the construction joint venture comprising GS E&C, Webuild, CPB, and China Construction Oceania. The consortium was awarded the project by the Major Transport Infrastructure Authority, a part of the Victoria state government, in October 2021. The project is slated for completion by the end of December 2028.

GS E&C's share of the construction cost is approximately 2.8 trillion Korean Won, making it the company’s second-largest project to date, following the UAE plant project awarded in 2009. It is also the largest single construction project awarded in Australia, attracting considerable attention when the award was made.
A GS E&C representative commented, "We are committed to successfully delivering the NEL project, our first major infrastructure initiative in Australia, by leveraging our extensive construction expertise and our strong capabilities in executing PPP projects."