The most expensive place in Australia is about to go up for sale.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is being sold by an individual seeking to turn a profit.
Intermediaries, who help businesses negotiate contracts, will sell the Sydney Harbour, at the heart of the city, to an unnamed buyer.
The sale is the first step towards an investment of $4 billion.
It’s not just the Sydney Bridge, the Sydney Opera House, Sydney Harbour Towers and the Australian Museum, all of which are being sold.
The Australian Government will sell its largest office building, the Parliament Buildings, to the Sydney Real Estate Investment Trust (SREIT), a company run by Australian billionaire Andrew Forrest.
The Sydney Harbour will be the biggest piece of infrastructure to fall into the hands of an overseas investor, with the potential to generate more than $4.5 billion for Sydney, the NSW Government has confirmed.
The deal is worth $2.8 billion and the building is owned by the NSW government.
“It’s just about taking a risk, really,” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg told reporters on Tuesday.
Mr Frydenbur said the Government would sell to a company controlled by Andrew Forrest, who is worth more than three times as much as the current Treasurer Joe Hockey.
He said the sale was about giving the Government more control over the future of the Sydney market.
“It’s very, very significant for us to have the largest infrastructure building in the world, that’s been in our heritage and now that it’s going to be sold, we’ll have control of it,” Mr Frydenburg said.
What are the Sydney and Sydney Harbour Bridges?
The NSW Government owns the Sydney Harbor and Sydney Opera Houses.
The State Government owns most of the NSW Parliament Buildings.
The NSW Government also owns the Commonwealth Parliament Building, which houses Parliament and Government offices.
The Sydney Bridge was built in 1894 to connect the city with Sydney Harbour.
The bridge has been the venue for international events, including the Sydney Olympics in 1996 and the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
The $2 billion sale is part of a plan to expand Sydney’s CBD to include hotels, residential developments and more office space.
