$220m of work for John Holland from Alice Springs-Darwin Railway Line

Issue Date:  20 April 2001
Issued By:  Leighton Holdings Limited

Company Announcements Office
The Australian Stock Exchange Limited
Level 4
20 Bridge Street
Sydney NSW 2000

Re: $220m of work for John Holland from Alice Springs-Darwin Railway Line

Dear Sir,

Please find attached a copy of the media statement to be released today advising that the Asia Pacific Transport Consortium has reached financial close for the construction and operation of the Adelaide to Darwin Railway.

John Holland Group Pty Limited, a 70% owned subsidiary of Leighton Holdings Limited is a member of the consortium that will design and construct a 1,420km rail line from Alice Springs to Darwin. The project is expected to start in May 2001 and is due to be completed during 2003. John Holland expects their share of this $1.2 billion project to be worth $220 million.

John Holland is also taking a 7½% ownership interest in the concession company, Asia Pacific Transport Consortium that will be responsible for 50 years of freight operations, including the operations of the Darwin Port Freight Terminal.

Yours faithfully,


A.J. MOIR
Company Secretary

Go Ahead for Construction of Alice-Darwin Railway

Issue Date: 20 April 2001
Issued by: John Holland Group

John Holland is pleased to announce that following finalisation of the project’s financial arrangements today, construction of the 1420 kilometres of rail link between Alice Springs and Darwin will begin immediately.

John Holland, along with  Halliburton/Brown & Root, Barclay Mowlem and Macmahon Holdings Ltd is a member of a Joint Venture, “ADrail”, that was formed to undertake the design and construction of the rail link.  ADrail’s head office is in Darwin and it has an established design office in Adelaide.

John Holland also holds equity in Asia Pacific Transport Pty Ltd (APTC), the concession company which will own the Alice to Darwin rail link for 50 years.  Freight operations, including the operation of the Darwin Port Freight Terminal, will be undertaken by “FreightLink” a subsidiary of APTC. John Holland is also a shareholder in a company which owns the rights to the development of services and utilities along the corridor.

Construction is expected to be complete in early 2004.

Managing Director Bill Wild, said that John Holland was very  proud to be associated with this significant project. “The project has taken a massive effort to bring to financial close and we are very pleased finally to have that behind us and to be able to start the actual construction works” he said. Mr Wild noted that John Holland’s skills and pre-eminent position in the rail construction and maintenance industry in Australia would be a significant element in the successful completion of the project.

Mr Wild also expressed confidence that the Railway operations would prove a success. “There is a very clear movement in Australia towards railing freight instead of carrying it on our roads. As well, overseas experience is that this type of cross country rail network has been very successful in taking traffic from other forms of transport, and we expect to see a significant amount of the freight that is currently transported to South East Asia by sea, eventually being carried on our rail line” he said.

John Holland Chairman Mrs Janet Holmes á Court said this project was of great  importance to the Northern Territory, South Australia and the whole nation, and to reach the point where construction work can now begin, nearly a century after it was first proposed, is a major achievement by all concerned. “We are extremely proud of John Holland’s role in this”, she said.

John Holland was established in 1949 and is one of Australia’s best known construction and engineering companies.  It has a high profile in the rail sector - it has responsibility for maintenance and rehabilitation of 4,000 kilometres of Westrail track and has many other contracts across Australia.  The company is also a leader in construction contracting in civil engineering, building, and the minerals process, oil and gas, and industrial sectors.  It has a strong presence in telecommunications, defence and maintenance contracting.

For further information contact:    
Anne Fogarty
John Holland Group
(03) 9934 523