Mersey Gateway

Member Article

Mersey Gateway project over first hurdle towards government backing

The Mersey Gateway bridge crossing project has passed its ‘first hurdle’ towards getting a government financial guarantee, to help secure private investors for the scheme.

Government has already pledged £86m for the proposed £600m crossing linking Runcorn and Widnes, but has now announced that the project is one of 15 to reach a pre-qualification stage for the guarantee scheme.

The statement adds that “further discussions, assessment and due diligence” remain to be carried out before the government commits to acting as a guarantor.

Chief secretary to the Treasury, Danny Alexander, said: “Getting our infrastructure right means we can be globally competitive, boost growth and create jobs across the UK.

“What we see today is the extent to which the Government is reaching out to help the private sector build Britain’s key infrastructure.”

He added: “Having passed the first hurdle these companies know the Government is there to help if they need it.

“I hope today’s announcement will encourage even more businesses to consider how they can take advantage of a guarantee.”

The proposed bridge would be a six-lane crossing aimed at easing congestion on the existing Silver Jubilee Bridge that spans the River Mersey and currently carries 90,000 vehicles each day, despite being designed for 60,000.

Around 4,600 jobs would be created by the crossing which will run from Junction 12 of the M56 near Runcorn to the A562 Speke Road in Widnes in the north.

In June this year the Merseylink consortium was confirmed as the preferred bidder to build the bridge.

Merseylink consists of equity members Macquarie Capital Group, Bilfinger Project Investments Europe, Vialia Sociedad Gestora de Concesiones de Infraestructuras SL and FCC Construcción SA.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Simon Malia .

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