The RiverLinx consortium was selected for the scheme in May 2019 but closure of the deal was delayed by a legal challenge from local opposition campaigners.
The international consortium comprises Australian bank Macquarie Capital, Spanish infrastructure operator Cintra, Britain's Aberdeen Standard Investments, South Korean contractor SK E&C and Dutch group BAM PPP PGGM (which is itself a joint venture between Royal BAM Group and Dutch pension fund administrator PGGM).
The signing of the Silvertown tunnel contract will now allow the consortium’s construction team of BAM Nuttall (including sister company Wayss & Freytag Ingenieurbau), Ferrovial Agroman and SK E&C to progress with appointing local subcontractors and suppliers to support the project.
The new 1.4km twin-bore tunnel is being built to relieve traffic congestion in east London and improve reliability at the existing Blackwall Tunnel by providing an alternative river crossing route between the Royal Docks and Greenwich Peninsula.
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.
Tolls will be charged on both the new crossing and the Blackwall Tunnel to cover construction and maintenance costs.
Silvertown will be the UK’s first major road tunnel to include a dedicated bus lane in each direction.
It will be the first permanent road crossing to be constructed across the River Thames east of Tower Bridge since the QE2 Bridge at Dartford opened in October 1991.
Completion is scheduled for 2025.
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