The New South Wales government is expanding an initiative designed to slice through red tape and fast-track road infrastructure across the state, cutting project delivery times by several years.
Known as Project Swift, the framework will now be embedded as standard practice by Transport for NSW after trial results demonstrated significant reductions in planning and procurement timeframes.
Under traditional project development models, major road builds often faced delays of up to seven years between initial funding and the start of construction.
Project Swift aims to compress the pre-construction phase down to under 12 months for many developments.
The streamlined approach abandons rigid, one-size-fits-all procedures in favour of tailored strategies based on a project’s scale, complexity, and risk profile.
Developed in collaboration with contractors, designers, and industry bodies, key measures include early contractor involvement, fast-tracked business cases, accelerated design phases, earlier property acquisitions, and the bundling of procurement to achieve economies of scale.
Several major projects are already benefitting from the framework. In planning and development, the Bandon Road Upgrade at Vineyard will start up to 12 months sooner, while the Avoca Drive upgrade at Kincumber and the Windsor Road Upgrade at Rouse Hill will see construction accelerated by up to nine and six months respectively.
Active delivery projects, including the M1 to Raymond Terrace and the Jervis Bay Flyover, are also tracking months ahead of schedule.
“Rolling out the Project Swift framework across all road infrastructure projects in NSW is going to be a gamechanger for the state,” said Minister for Roads and Regional Transport Jenny Aitchison.
“We’ve already seen projects delivered ahead of schedule thanks to this framework, which is why we will be applying it to every road project across the state, no matter the size.”
Transport for NSW confirmed that despite the expedited timelines, essential safeguards, including safety standards, environmental protections, community consultation, and rigorous value-for-money assessments, will remain strictly intact across all future projects.
