MELBOURNE (Standard&Poor's) April 15, 2015—Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that its ratings on the Australian State of Victoria (AAA/Stable/A-1+) are unaffected by the state government's decision to not proceed with the East West Link road project. Although no compensation will be paid to the companies involved in the project, the consortium (EWL Project Co) has already drawn down A$339 million of net costs for the bid process, and design and preconstruction works. A further A$81 million of fees were incurred to establish the Project Co credit facility of A$3 billion. We consider the state can absorb these costs within the current rating levels.
