GS E&C employees and key officials pose for a photo after completing TBM tunneling at the Australia North East Link highway tunnel construction site. (GS E&C) GS Engineering & Construction announced Tuesday that it has completed tunnel boring machine excavation for a key section of Melbourne's North East Link highway project, marking a major milestone in the South Korean builder's first Australian infrastructure project.Two tunnel boring machines, each measuring 15.6 meters in diameter, reached their designated endpoints after completing their respective excavation sections, the company said.The breakthrough concludes a major phase of the project that required precise machine operation and systematic construction management. GS E&C said the achievement demonstrates its ability to manage large-scale overseas infrastructure projects and complex tunneling work.The North East Link project will connect Melbourne’s M80 Ring Road with the Eastern Freeway, improving road connectivity in the northeastern part of the city. The project includes the construction of 6.5 kilometers of tunnels, along with interchanges and connections to existing surface roads.GS E&C is participating in the project as an equity investor in the Spark Consortium and a member of the Design & Construction Joint Venture. In 2021, Australia’s State of Victoria signed a primary package project contract for the NEL road with the Spark Consortium.The NEL road project contract was valued at approximately 10.1 trillion won ($6.9 billion), and GS E&C’s share of the construction amounts to 2.8 trillion won. This is the second largest single overseas project undertaken by the company following the 2009 United Arab Emirates plant project.GS E&C will carry out subsequent construction phases including installing road structures; installing electrical, lighting and safety systems; and constructing road connections, aiming to open the tunnel by the end of 2028.“This TBM breakthrough proves our overseas tunnel construction capabilities to the world,” an GS E&C official said. “We will proceed with the remaining phases with quality and safety management as priorities.”