Bam wins €1 billion TfL Silvertown Tunnel

An international consortium known as Riverlinx, has been named as the preferred bidder to deliver the Silvertown Tunnel, a £1 billion (€1.12 billion) project based in London, UK.

The consortium is made up of BAM’s public private partnerships arm BAM PPP PGGM, Aberdeen Standard Investments, Cintra, Macquarie Capital and SK Engineering & Construction.

The deal will see the consortium design, build, finance and maintain a 1.4 km twin-bore tunnel, which is being constructed to relieve traffic congestion in east London and improve traffic flow at the existing Blackwall Tunnel.

Construction of the new tunnel has been commissioned by Transport for London (TfL) and is being established to provide an alternative route under the river Thames in east London.

Work on the tunnel is planned to begin later this year with the project expected to be completed in 2025.

Once completed around 37 buses an hour operating in both directions will use the crossing.

The project will also generate improvements in the areas around the tunnel, including noise barriers along the approach roads, new green spaces around the tunnel entrances and walking and cycling upgrades local streets.

The consortium must complete financial arrangements with lenders to before being awarded the project as TfL will only make a payment once the tunnel is complete.

Like the existing Blackwall Tunnel, a user charge will also be implemented on the new tunnel.

Alex Williams, director of City Planning at TfL said: “The need for more river crossings in East London, to unlock growth and give residents and businesses better access to jobs and services, has been clear for decades.

“The Silvertown Tunnel, which is vital to support London’s economy, has been designed to resolve the existing congestion problem around Blackwall, improve overall air quality and enable new cross-river bus routes to be introduced.”