The Port of Melbourne has been sold to a consortium including Queensland Infrastructure Corporation, Global Infrastructure Partners and Canada’s Borealis for $9.7 billion, a price the Victorian treasurer Tim Pallas called a “pleasant surprise”.
The ABC reports that state legislation enabling the 50-year lease to the Lonsdale consortium passed parliament in March. A price of $6 billion was initially predicted.
According to AAP, Treasurer Tim Pallas said “”I think we’ve been very lucky in terms of timing … couldn’t have picked a better time to go to the market.”
Premier Daniel Andrews called it a vote of confidence in the state’s economy, and said over $970 million of the sale would be spent on rural and regional projects.
Final bids were due in last Friday, with Lonsdale beating a rival consortium including IFM and Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, notes The Australian.
