ACCIONA has entered into an agreement with Lendlease, the Australian property and infrastructure group, to acquire the ongoing business of Lendlease Engineering. The agreement comprises eight key projects:
- Southern Program Alliance (Victoria). A level crossing removal project. In JV with ACCIONA.
- Southern Program Alliance AWP1 (Victoria). Additional work. In JV with ACCIONA.
- Ballarat Line Upgrade (Victoria). Railway upgrade. In JV with ACCIONA.
- WestConnex 3A (NSW). Two 7.5 km-long twin motorway tunnels.
- Western Sydney International Airport (NSW). Major bulk earthworks package.
- Pacific Highway W2B (NSW). Road section upgrade.
- Gawler Rail (South Australia). Electrification Project.
- The Northern Road Upgrade (NSW). Road section upgrade.
Under the terms of the agreement, the NorthConnex and Kingsford Smith Drive projects, both in their final stages, and Melbourne Metro will not be included in the perimeter and will remain with Lendlease.
The transaction, valued at AU$180 million (€110 million), includes a substantial fleet of plant and equipment. The deferred consideration is one-third payable upon completion, a further third at the end of 2020, and the rest in June 2021.
The consolidated capability and additional construction pipeline will reinforce ACCIONA’s position as a leading Australian constructor and allow it to accelerate the pace of growth of its infrastructure business in a dynamic market worth AU$30 billion (€18.5 billion) a year. Australia is one of ACCIONA’s strategic markets for its infrastructure and renewable energy businesses.
The integration of the new projects will result in ACCIONA achieving annual construction revenues in Australia in excess of AU$2 billion (€1.2 billion) in the near term, growing towards AU$3.0 billion-AU$3.5 billion (€1.9 billion-€2.2 billion) in the medium term, anticipating ACCIONA´s growth targets for the country.
The agreement is expected to become effective in the first half of 2020 subject to regulatory approvals and client and third party consents.
The integration reinforces ACCIONA’s excellence in engineering and construction in Australia and will complement the company’s solid credentials in roads, rail systems, ports, water and energy infrastructure in the country, resulting in a broader range of projects across the country.
Bede Noonan, ACCIONA’s managing director for Infrastructure in Australia and New Zealand, will continue to head the business as CEO of the enlarged unit.
“The agreement will bring together a strong domestic team with truly global experience at a time when demonstrated capability and bench strength to deliver on Australia’s significant infrastructure pipeline is at a premium,” said Bede Noonan. “The range and scale of projects in this market is growing and companies with strong domestic capability and expertise are needed to meet the challenge.”
LONG TRACK RECORD IN AUSTRALIA
ACCIONA has been operating in Australia since 2002, where it has successfully developed its renewable energy, water and infrastructure businesses. The company employs in the country more than a 1,000 people and has invested some AU$1.9 billion (€1.2 billion).
Its Infrastructure unit has built major projects such as the Legacy Way tunnel in Brisbane, a 41km bypass for the Toowoomba motorway, a desalination plant in Adelaide, the Mundaring water treatment plant East of Perth, and the Sydney Light Rail.
In Western Australia, ACCIONA is currently building the country’s first waste to energy plant in Kwinana. In addition, the company is developing a number of rail projects in the state of Victoria.
In March 2017, ACCIONA took a further step in its ambition to become a significant domestic player in the infrastructure market with the acquisition of Geotech.
ACCIONA’s Energy unit develops, builds and operates wind farms that produce clean energy for more than 205,000 Australian homes per year. Its installed capacity of 437 MW is distributed between Mt. Gellibrand (132MW, Victoria), Waubra (192MW, Victoria), Cathedral Rocks (66MW, South Australia) and Gunning (47MW, New South Wales).
The company is currently building a wind farm in Mortlake South (158MW, Victoria) and has several projects under study and development in the states of Queensland and Victoria.