...Traffic Growth Sustained: Fitch Ratings expects a steady underlying increase in traffic as a result of the completion of expansion projects and a continuing healthy economy. Strong overall traffic growth in Fitch's rated Australian road portfolio has continued in 2015, as the benefits of the road-expansion works in the Sydney region come to fruition. The Australian airport sector benefits from passenger diversity, with subdued domestic traffic growth of 1.0% balanced by strong international traffic growth of 5.6% for the year to March 2015. Core Economic Role: The Fitch-rated assets perform important economic roles, which should underpin their performance: the Eastern Distributor, Hills M2, M5 and Westlink M7 roads, along with the Cross City Tunnel and the Lane Cove Tunnel, form the bulk of Sydney's orbital road network; the Queensland Motorways (QML) network provides the equivalent function in Brisbane; and the Citylink road in Melbourne is a crucial connection to the central business...
