How to turn a $680M project into a public disaster (in under 6 months)


Sydney.
Early 2000s.
The government wanted less traffic in the CBD.
Private investors wanted 30 years of fat toll revenues.
Everyone thought they had a winner.

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The Cross City Tunnel PPP was signed in 2002.

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Cost? Around AUD 680 million.
Forecast? 90,000 cars a day.
Reality? Barely 20,000.

And the toll?
$4.50.

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Drivers said: I'd rather sit in a traffic jam for free, thanks.

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To make it worse, the government had promised to close surface roads to "push" traffic into the tunnel.

As intelligent as high security officials putting journalists in the WhatsApp groups…

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Imagine how well that went down with voters.

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Within months:

  • The private consortium sued the government for breach of contract.
  • The government sued back for misrepresentation.
  • Drivers sued for unfair closures.
  • Shareholders sued the board for terrible forecasting.

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Everyone suing everyone.

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A beautiful mess.

By 2007, the tunnel went bankrupt.
Sold off to a pension fund for cents on the dollar.

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Brutal lessons:

  • Fake traffic forecasts eventually blow up in your face.
  • You can't bully drivers into using your asset.
  • Toll prices aren’t a detail — they are life or death.
  • If the public hates your PPP, it’s already dead.

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Moral:
If your project needs lawsuits, road closures, and magic math to work,
it doesn’t work.
It never did.

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I have other interesting and horror stories about my last project in the link below.

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$99.90

The 15 Top Lessons of a PPP Project Nightmare

Learn about:
The number 1 killer of Projects
Why this was not going to be just "another construction project, mate"... Read more

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Vicente Valencia

I talk about Personal Growth, Management, Infrastructure and More | C-Suite Executive | Mentor, Coach, Strategic Consultant | Real Estate Investor | 👇JOIN +2k readers 👇

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