Re: Alice Springs - Darwin contract signing this week

[dbromage@fang.omni.com.au (David Bromage)]

Alice Springs-Darwin railway contracts to be signed

   DARWIN, Oct 16 AAP - Contracts will be signed for construction 
of the Alice Springs-Darwin railway on Wednesday, three months 
after they were to be finalised in London during Australia Week
celebrations.
   Prime Minister John Howard, South Australian Premier John Olsen, 
Northern Territory Chief Minister Denis Burke and leaders of the 
private sector partners, the Asia Pacific Transport Consortium, 
will sign off on the project at a ceremony in Adelaide.
   Mr Burke said the final documentation expected to be completed 
next month when financing was settled was only a formality.
   "As far as I'm concerned, the deal has been done," Mr Burke told 
reporters in Darwin today.
   He said an alternative signing ceremony had been planned for the 
Northern Territory on Saturday if the banks had not granted the 
consortium in-principle finance approval by Wednesday.
   The consortium has yet to complete equity and debt documentation 
ready for financial closure on November 30.
   Mr Burke said an Australian Taxation Office private ruling that 
the consortium was waiting on was also not an issue.
   "I understand the actual determination will involve no surprises," he
said.
   The $1.23 billion railway - Australia's largest infrastructure 
project since the Snowy Mountains scheme - is on track for 
completion by early 2004.
   Mr Burke and Mr Olsen will sign an agreement with the consortium 
covering a 50-year concession deed, leases covering the rail 
corridor including on Aboriginal land as well as leases to operate 
at Darwin's East Arm Port and container terminal.
   Mr Howard will sign the commonwealth deed of grant for the $165 
million committed to the project from the Federation Fund.
   The consortium has undertaken to spend 70 per cent of the 
project's costs in South Australia and the Northern Territory with 
1,200 direct jobs on railway construction.
   Mr Burke said pre-construction drilling and corridor-clearing 
work would begin immediately after Wednesday.

AAP rmg/hu