The East West Link could soon be revived by the state government's new infrastructure planning body, despite Daniel Andrews spending $1.1 billion of taxpayers' funds to rip up the contract.



In a move that could prove politically damaging for the government, Infrastructure Victoria - an independent body created by Labor to "take the politics out of infrastructure planning" - has not ruled out the controversial road forming part of a 30-year strategy that will be handed to the Premier at the end of the year.

The agency will spend the next few months seeking the community's input to determine what kind of infrastructure the city needs to keep pace with population growth. Asked what would happen if the community overwhelming decided it needed the East West Link, Infrastructure Victoria chairman Jim Miller replied: "Everything is on the table."

Daniel Andrews could be heading back to the future on East West Link. (Digitally altered image)

"We're very open-minded, we're evidence-based. So the team is furiously gathering the evidence to say, on any of the options, what's the case that justifies that option?" the former Macquarie Capital executive director told The Sunday Age.

"We're very focused on trying to deliver something that actually will be used ... and because people perceive it as the right way to go. That's what's driving us."



Infrastructure Victoria was set up with bipartisan parliamentary support last year ensure the state has a steady pipeline of projects to meet its short, medium and long-term needs. Its 30-year strategy will not only recommend new projects (such a road linkages and health facilities) but also look at how existing infrastructure could be better utilised (for instance, installing high-capacity signalling on the train network).



The agency is also pushing for a sensible debate on how best to fund infrastructure – including by taking on more state debt – and is researching the effectiveness of cost-benefit ratios, which tend to be heavily relied upon to prove that projects stack up when other factors should also be taken into account.



"If you have a solution which is more expensive but you do it because it has greater social and environment benefit, how do you pick that up?" Mr Miller said.