Preferred bidder confirmed for £1bn Silvertown Tunnel

The RiverLinx consortium has been named by Transport for London as Preferred Bidder to design, build, finance, operate and maintain the Silvertown tunnel in East London.The contract is worth £1bn to the consortium of Aberdeen Standard Investments, BAM PPP PGGM, Cintra, Macquarie Capital and SK E&C .Construction work will be carried-out by a consortium of BAM Nuttall (including sister company Wayss & Freytag Ingenieurbau providing specialist tunnel engineering expertise), Ferrovial Agroman and Korean contractor SK E&C.The design includes a 1.4-kilometre twin-bore road tunnel under the River Thames as well as 0.6-kilometres of access ramps. It will connect south of the River Thames with the access to the existing Blackwall Tunnel and north of the River Thames with the Tidal Basin Roundabout, in Silvertown.Commercial and financial close of the project is expected later this year, after which construction will commence. The project will run for twenty-five years beyond construction, with RiverLinx responsible for the operation and maintenance of the tunnel.