Armadale Road Upgrade

 Armadale Road is a strategic freight route connecting the South West and the South East

corridors. It serves as one of the main east-west links within the Perth metropolitan transport
network connecting the Armadale Sub-regional centre and Albany Highway west to the
Kwinana Freeway, forming part of the route to the Fremantle Port. The link passes through
industrial areas, rural subdivisions and recently developed residential subdivisions, and
borders various environmentally sensitive reserves.
This business case recommends the State Government construct a two lane second
carriageway for 6.96 km between Anstey Road and Tapper Road and associated works at an
estimated project cost of $145.4 million at P50 level. Funding to the P50 outturn project cost
level ($145.4 million) has been considered adequate for the proposed project scope, given
the current competitive nature of the road construction market and the downturn in
construction activities in Western Australia.
This section of Armadale Road is experiencing increasing volumes of traffic and associated
congestion, delay and safety issues attributable to the increasing number of residential
developments in the area and industrial developments at Forrestdale.
The 6.96 kilometre section of Armadale Road between Anstey Road and Tapper Road is
deficient in catering for increasing volumes of traffic. The recommended capacity for single
lane roads is 8,000 vehicles per day. Traffic volumes on this section currently varies from
17,895 vehicles per day between Anstey Rd and Warton Rd to 27,500 vehicles per day
between Warton Rd and Tapper Rd. Traffic volumes are expected to grow to 29,000 vehicles
per day between Anstey Road and Warton Road 40,000 vehicles per day between Warton
Road and Tapper Road by 2021, an annual growth rate of 5 per cent. This will place
increasing pressure on the route, reducing service standards and compounding delays for
commercial vehicles and commuters.
Three options were evaluated to address the efficiency and safety issues on Armadale Road:
 Base Case – continue with the current ongoing maintenance schedule. This option
will cost the community through traffic delays, vehicle operating expenses and crash
related costs.
 Option 1 – address the congestion issues by diverting traffic to alternative routes,
providing road safety barriers, road treatments or grade separating intersections. This
option is a short-term solution to address safety issues with limited capacity benefits
and efficiency gains.
 Option 2 – construct a 6 lane dual carriageway from Anstey Road to Tapper Road.
This is the ultimate configuration for the Armadale Road, but is not recommended at
this time as it is anticipated a 4 lane dual carriageway for the project length will be fit
for purpose.
 Option 3 (Recommended) – construct a dual carriageway along the deficient section
of Armadale Road. The south metropolitan area will continue to be the focus of urban
developments to support increasing population and economic growth in Perth. The delivery of this road upgrade will supply additional traffic lanes and help to ease
congestion and safety issues along this section of road. This option is estimated to
cost $145.4 million with additional maintenance funding of $110,000 per annum

required from 2018-19 onwards and is expected to create economic benefits to the
order of $940 million for road users discounted over 30 years.
The recommended option involves construction of a second carriageway between Anstey
Road and Tapper Road; various upgrade works at 4 intersections; construction of Principal
Shared Path; street lighting and drainage; provision of two metre sealed shoulders; and
significant service relocations. The project is expected to yield private and commercial travel
time savings of $637 million, vehicle operating cost savings of $268 million and crash cost
savings of $35 million. A preliminary benefit cost ratio of 6.07 has been calculated based on
a 7% discount rate.
This project contributes to the State Government’s moving freight strategies by providing
infrastructure that supports economic development within the south west and south east
corridors of the Metropolitan area, especially industrial areas at Jandakot and Forrestdale by
improving a strategic link in the freight route.
Tenders for the project delivery could be awarded in 2018, with completion in 2019-20.
Main Roads Western Australia and the Transport Portfolio have prioritised this proposal for
investment and recommends that the Department of Treasury endorse this proposal for
funding in the 2016-17 State Budget

Melbourne Metro

 The core elements of the project are new twin 9km rail tunnels from South Kensington to South Yarra connecting the

Sunbury and Cranbourne/Pakenham lines, and five new underground stations at Arden, Parkville, CBD North, CBD
South, and Domain. Both CBD stations would interconnect with the rest of the Melbourne rail network. The project
also comprises a range of wider network enhancements, including infrastructure to increase the capacity of the
network. Overall, these developments are expected to provide rail capacity to accommodate an additional 39,000
passengers in the two-hour peak period.
The Victorian Government is currently procuring 65 high capacity metro trains, which will operate on the
Cranbourne/Pakenham lines, and through to the Sunbury line when the Melbourne Metro tunnel is operating. This will
deliver the metro style system at the commencement of operations in 2026.The cost of procuring 25 of these high capacity metro trains, and associated stabling works, platform extensions, maintenance and power upgrades, has
been included in the proponent’s economic analysis.

METRONET: Yanchep Rail Extension

 Perth’s north-west sub-region is experiencing rapid population growth. At present, the population is relatively

evenly distributed between the cities of Joondalup and Wanneroo. After 2021, the north-west sub-region planning
framework anticipates that the rate of population growth will be considerably stronger in the City of Wanneroo due
to its supply of undeveloped urban zoned land and continuing demand for coastal living. By 2050, the City of
Wanneroo is projected to accommodate nearly three quarters of the sub-region’s total population.
Without high-quality public transport services, Perth’s growing, but low-density, northern suburbs risk having high
levels of car ownership and travel. This is already placing pressure on the road network and causing congestion.
Recognising the nationally significant productivity losses from congestion in Perth, the Perth CBD – North Corridor
Capacity Initiative is currently included as a High Priority Initiative on the Infrastructure Priority List.
The Yanchep Rail Extension is a project within the Western Australian Government’s METRONET rail program. It
would extend the Joondalup Line from Butler Station to Yanchep, 14.5 kilometres to the north, with new stations at
Alkimos, Eglinton and Yanchep. Extending the rail line to this growth area would provide more transport choices for
residents and reduce demand on the roads, particularly in the peak periods.
Infrastructure Australia strongly recommends planning for increased density within cities, rather than encouraging
people to live in outer urban areas that are far from centres of employment and education. To achieve this, Perth’s
northern urban boundary should be maintained to encourage more sustainable development patterns and to avoid
the need for further extensions of the Joondalup Line.
The Western Australian Government’s stated benefit-cost ratio for the project is 2.6, with a net present value of
$1,571 million excluding wider economic benefits (using a 7% real discount rate and a P50 capital cost estimate).

The evaluation found limitations in the business case which overstate the benefits estimated by the proponent. However, Infrastructure Australia is confident that the benefits of the project will clearly exceed its costs, supporting economic growth and improving the quality of life for people in the north-west sub-region.

M1 Pacific Motorway — Mudgeeraba to Varsity Lakes

 The Mudgeeraba to Varsity Lakes section of the M1 Pacific Motorway carries up to 90,000 vehicles per day, a volume which exceeds the practical capacity of the current four lane motorway. Traffic demand for this section of the motorway is growing, and is expected to exceed 110,000 vehicles per day by 2036. The Australian Infrastructure Audit (the Audit) projected that, in the absence of intervention, the cost of congestion in the corridor would increase from $26 million in 2011 to $125 million in 2031. The freight task on this section, currently 7,000 heavy vehicles per day, is growing at 3–4% per year. The project proposes to widen a 5km section of the motorway from four to six lanes between Mudgeeraba Road/Robina Town Centre Drive (Mudgeeraba) and Reedy Creek Road (Varsity Lakes). This will involve widening the motorway into the central median area, providing a central concrete barrier, reconstructing the Mudgeeraba Creek bridges, and lengthening entry and exit ramps. The upgrade proposal includes installation of managed motorway enabling technologies which are proposed to become operational when the entire Nerang to Tugun section is upgraded. The project would provide an additional 50% in traffic capacity, which is expected to address congestion on the section for the next 15–20 years. It would complement recently completed upgrades between Nerang and Tugun. The benefit-cost ratio (BCR) stated by the proponent is 3.5, using a 7% discount rate and P90 capital cost estimate. Infrastructure Australia has identified a number of risks to achieving this BCR, primarily relating to the traffic modelling used in developing the business case, and the calculation of time savings. However, after allowing for adjustments to the BCR to account for these risks, Infrastructure Australia remains confident that the benefits of the project would exceed its costs. The P90 estimated capital cost for the project is $220 million. The proponent is seeking an Australian Government contribution of 80% 

Port of Shanghai, China

The Port of Shanghai has been the world’s busiest port since 2010 when it overtook Singapore to gain the title.

Since then, it’s been charting quite an impressive growth journey.

In 2016, the port handled 37 million TEUs — a then-world record and the most managed by any port in a year. It went on to break its own record the following year, adding 3 million more TEUs to 40 million TEUs. Its record-setting path continued into 2018 when it crossed the 42 million barrier.

This is impressive even by China’s standards, as the Port of Shanghai is now just 3 million TEUs shy of the 45 million TEUs the port had initially set as a target for 2040.

The Port of Shanghai is also where the world’s largest automated container terminal, the Shanghai Yangshan Deep Water Port, is located. The terminal began operations in late 2017.




In 1842, Shanghai became a treaty port, thus developing into an international commercial city. By the early 20th century, it was the largest city and the largest port in East Asia. In 1949, with the Communist takeover in Shanghai, overseas trade was cut dramatically. The economic policy of the People's Republic had a crippling effect on Shanghai's infrastructure and capital development.




In 1991, the central government allowed Shanghai to initiate economic reform. Since then, the port has developed at a rapid pace. By 2005, the Yangshan deep-water port had been built on the Yangshan islands, a group of islands in Hangzhou Bay linked to Shanghai by the Donghai Bridge. This development allowed the port to overcome shallow water conditions in its current location and to rival another deep-water port, the nearby Ningbo-Zhoushan port.




The port is part of the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road that runs from the Chinese coast to Singapore, towards the southern tip of India to Mombasa, from there through the Red Sea via the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, there to the Upper Adriatic region to the northern Italian hub of Trieste with its connections to Central Europe and the North Sea.




The Port of Shanghai is a critically important transport hub for the Yangtze River region and the most important gateway for foreign trade. It serves the Yangtze economically developed hinterland of Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Henan provinces with its dense population, strong industrial base and developed agricultural sector.