The Victorian Government has this week opened a Registration of Interest (ROI) process seeking businesses, investors and constructors to help deliver the Melbourne Airport Rail Link.

If re-elected, the Andrews Government says it will commit up to $5 billion to the project, which will run from the CBD to the airport via Sunshine. The full Business Case is currently underway in partnership with the Commonwealth, with the project set to begin construction by 2022.

Rail Projects Victoria is leading the global registration of interest. The search includes designers, engineers, rail systems providers, rolling stock providers, investors, financiers, developers and other rail infrastructure providers.

The Link route will connect regional Victorians and all of Melbourne via a new super hub at Sunshine. It will also form the north-western section of the Suburban Rail Loop, an underground rail network forming a circle around Melbourne’s suburbs.The Government announced last month that if re-elected it would invest $300 million for the business case to get the Suburban Rail Loop underway, in addition to the $5 billion for construction of the Airport Rail Link.

It says regional Victorians will benefit from the Suburban Rail Loop via the super-hubs at Sunshine, Broadmeadows and Clayton, providing direct connections into growing employment precincts outside the central business district.