Clem 7 sold for $618million cost $3billion to build

[csv8]

More than two years after it was placed in receivership, Brisbane's Clem7 tunnel has been sold to Queensland Motorways for $618 million – a fraction of the $3 billion it cost to build.

The tollroad's receiver, KordaMentha, has selected Queensland Motorways ahead of three other consortiums including one led by UBS Infrastructure Fund.

Queensland Motorways, which is owned by the Queensland Investment Corporation, controls most of Brisbane's tollroads, including the Gateway and Logan motorways and the Legacy Way tunnel, currently under construction in the city's west.

The state-owned business had been seen as the most logical buyer of the Clem7 given the tunnel would fit well within the rest of its network.
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RiverCity Motorway, the previous owner of the tunnel under the Brisbane River, was placed in receivership in February 2011, less than a year after it was opened to motorists.

Queensland Motorways chief executive Brendan Bourke said the change of ownership would be ‘‘seamless’’ for motorists.

"The deal positions Queensland Motorways to further consolidate the Brisbane toll road network in the future and will provide us with a platform to work with Brisbane City Council and the state government to improve the Brisbane road network over the longer term," he said.

The $618 million price tag will include $33 million in taxes and other costs.

In striking parallels with other failed public-private projects such as Sydney's Cross City and Lane Cove tunnels, the Brisbane tunnel failed to attract anywhere near the number of motorists that were forecast.

That was despite RiverCity using almost every means possible, including slashing tolls, to entice motorists to use the tunnel named after a former Brisbane lord mayor, Clem Jones.

Analysts had expected the tunnel to sell for less than $650 million.

The 6.8-kilometre tollway includes a 4.8-kilometre tunnel linking roads on each side of the Brisbane River.

The sale is expected to be completed within the next three months.

It comes just two weeks after Sydney's Cross City Tunnel failed financially for the second time in eight years.

Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/business/turni...#ixzz2g4BXRpzt
My comment "when are they going to realise, motorists don't want toll roads. We pay enough in rego etc"

[mechanic]

Glad I didn't buy shares in that.

[Polyal]

Bargain?

[mechanic]

http://au.finance.yahoo.com/echarts?...rce=undefined;

_ [ That's minus ] 98.48% on investment.

The buyer, Queensland Motorways is an investment arm of the State Government.

Having lived in Qld all my life and been a victim of the Traveston Dam debacle I would run a mile from any activity or suggestion of an idea put up by any local or state governments over the past 45 years.

[kaniSS]

I feels good knowing that investors and operators got screwed trying to screw us motorists. lol.

[jpd80]

Maybe some day, a smart government boffin will work out why everyone avoids the Clem7 like the plague....

Cough, speed cameras...cough cough...

[GREGL]

Where did they find 618 million. We are supposed to be broke !

[nstg8a]

Originally Posted by GREGL

Where did they find 618 million. We are supposed to be broke !

Probably borrowed against the revenue from 375 new speed cameras...

[EDManual]

Thats great its in state hands at least. They got it cheap! Good investment wouldnt you say, make all the shareholders lose their money and get the job done for a quarter of the cost!
Shouldnt we be happy? Big companies lose money, the govt for once doesnt?!

[SSD-85]

Originally Posted by EDManual

Thats great its in state hands at least. They got it cheap! Good investment wouldnt you say, make all the shareholders lose their money and get the job done for a quarter of the cost!
Shouldnt we be happy? Big companies lose money, the govt for once doesnt?!

Yep, and our reward for those savings is more revenue raisers (aka speed cameras), larger fines, selling off more govt assets (Aurizon anyone?) & anything else anyone would care to mention that is to our detriment....

[nstg8a]

They only need what, 150 million cars to go through to pay for it....

[InTrail]

Originally Posted by mechanic

Having lived in Qld all my life and been a victim of the Traveston Dam debacle I would run a mile from any activity or suggestion of an idea put up by any local or state governments over the past 45 years.

I'm sure most Queenslanders would also be aware of the Health payroll debacle that cost about $1.2 billion instead of the budgeted $40 million.

Well the ex-Minister for Health is now on the Board of Airservices Australia - the provider of most of Australia's air traffic control services.

.

[mik]

I would happily use toll roads if they were not so bloody expensive, but i'd rather pay an extra 20 bucks in fuel a week not counting extra wear an tear on the limo going an alternative longer way than pay these greedy toll takers.

[tex]

Here's a thought to toll road operators...

Build them to a standard where speed limits can be appropriately raised, and remove some of the emphasis on speed camera revenue. Reduce camera number, provide reasonable tollerance and utilise accurate detection devices.

Make it attractive to motorists, create an advantage and provide decent value for the toll charge.

[kaniSS]

Originally Posted by tex

Here's a thought to toll road operators...

Build them to a standard where speed limits can be appropriately raised, and remove some of the emphasis on speed camera revenue. Reduce camera number, provide reasonable tollerance and utilise accurate detection devices.

Make it attractive to motorists, create an advantage and provide decent value for the toll charge.

And cheaper. I mean why must they make a profit within the first year? Administer a cheaper toll and make your stinkin profits in say 2 years time for example. In the long run it will be much more benfitual instead of losing out like this.

[ryeman]

The private sector proposes and when it goes wrong the taxpayer picks up the tab ultimately.
Melbourne's about to embark on the same dubious undertaking which will be another way of subsidising the goods/services transport industries at the expense of public transport infrastructure.

[Franco Cozzo]

Does the Clem 7 tunnel save a lot of time? I use Citylink in Melbourne regularly because it saves you from having to cross the city with its 2000000000000 intersections, you can cross to the eastern suburbs by sitting on the one freeway the whole way through.

I'm assuming it didn't save much time or the non toll way is just as easy to drive through because everyone here on AFF in QLD hates it.

[csv8]

Big Damo at best 10 minutes a waste of money from day one...both tunnels gone bust in Briz. Third under construction will go same way..

[Martys-Bionic-XR]

I find its kinda handy if you are in a rush. But to be successfull they need a tunnel that would go from the wacol area to the bruce highway with a few feeder tunnels in strategic locations.

[GREGL]

Originally Posted by InTrail

I'm sure most Queenslanders would also be aware of the Health payroll debacle that cost about $1.2 billion instead of the budgeted $40 million.

Well the ex-Minister for Health is now on the Board of Airservices Australia - the provider of most of Australia's air traffic control services.

.

As long he doesn't have the final say , it should be safe to fly .....

[nstg8a]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

Does the Clem 7 tunnel save a lot of time? I use Citylink in Melbourne regularly because it saves you from having to cross the city with its 2000000000000 intersections, you can cross to the eastern suburbs by sitting on the one freeway the whole way through.

I'm assuming it didn't save much time or the non toll way is just as easy to drive through because everyone here on AFF in QLD hates it.

When I was working two jobs I was going from rocklea to eagle farm, and I was always in a rush, so I used the clem 7, but often I was hitting the motorway at rocklea the same time as another night shifter I worked with, and I was pretty consistently 7-10 minutes quicker than him, and he refused to use it.
Thing is, he was often late to work, I was very rarely late.

So frustrating though knowing its full of cameras and its empty....

[TheSneakiness]

*Waits for Airport Link to fall over*

Seriously, there are two reasons why I do not use any city tunnels apart from the ICB, and that's speed cameras and the amount to drive through them. Not worth $4 odd bucks and 5 minutes of your life if you get pinged doing 5 over.

[jpd80]

Pull out the speed cameras and make the tolls $10 a journey and watch people come back.
This government is so stupid, why would anyone imperil their license on a daily basis....

Here's a novel idea, move the speed cameras to surface roads that people use to avoid the tunnels,
encourage people to use the tunnels without cameras and actually pay for the infrastructure provided...

[2011G6E]

Bargain!!

Of course, it's always been hard to sell toll roads to Australians...we pay so damn much for registration and other charges that people quite rightly say "why not spend it on the roads?". The RACQ and other motoring organisations have said for decades that of all the income from motorists in fuel taxes and rego, that only something like 3% is spent back on the roads...the RACQ once said "Imagine if they upped it to just 10%...every major highway would be divided four lane as a minimum, every country road would be wide safe two lane bitumen, dirt roads would virtually be a thing of the past", and they're not much wrong.

[Franco Cozzo]

My main local single lane road to and from the joint (Melbourne-Lancefield goat track) would be easier to maintain if they just ripped up the entire 40km stretch and make it dirt.

Dirt roads are probably easier to maintain, rather than let it get into a state of such disrepair and start damaging cars.

They don't like to spend money on roads here unless its Gisborne or Kyneton where all the council money gets spent, death to Gisborne and Kyneton.

[ILLaViTaR]

Why even build it? Absolutely stupid. I thought with projects on a scale like this they could've at least pay some undergrand a couple hundred bucks for a consultation that would've saved like 3 billion?? Because before they built this thing.. anyone could've told them they're on crack if they're naive enough to bank the revenue of such a big investment on speed rorts that drivers just escape by going alternative routes.

[ILLaViTaR]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

Bargain!!

Of course, it's always been hard to sell toll roads to Australians...we pay so damn much for registration and other charges that people quite rightly say "why not spend it on the roads?". The RACQ and other motoring organisations have said for decades that of all the income from motorists in fuel taxes and rego, that only something like 3% is spent back on the roads...the RACQ once said "Imagine if they upped it to just 10%...every major highway would be divided four lane as a minimum, every country road would be wide safe two lane bitumen, dirt roads would virtually be a thing of the past", and they're not much wrong.

But how do they think that works? The average labour for only 1 square meter of road is a circle of 40 roadworkers, a cloud of smoke and an outer rim of sauce packets. Sounds as cruisy as the Monash was a few years back.

[Blue Roo]

Originally Posted by InTrail

I'm sure most Queenslanders would also be aware of the Health payroll debacle that cost about $1.2 billion instead of the budgeted $40 million.

Well the ex-Minister for Health is now on the Board of Airservices Australia - the provider of most of Australia's air traffic control services.

.

God Help Us!!!