Waterford By-Pass and Kinnegad/Kilcock Motorway
26th October, 2000
Waterford By-Pass and Kinnegad/Kilcock Motorway
The National Roads Authority (NRA) today, October 26th, 2000 announced the launch of two major Public Private Partnerships (PPP) road projects. The Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Mr. Noel Dempsey, T. D. addressed contractors, designers and financiers on the planned PPP Waterford By-Pass scheme and Kinnegad/Kilcock motorway. These are part of a total programme of eleven PPP projects within the National Development Plan (NDP) which it is estimated will secure a total of €1.27 billion in private sector financing through the use of Public Private Partnerships.
The objective of the Kinnegad to Kilcock Motorway (scheduled to open in 2005) is to bypass Kinnegad, Clonard, Ballynadrummy, Moyvalley, Enfield and Cloncurry (the by-pass is scheduled to open in 2005). The 35 km road improvement scheme will replace the existing N4, which will thereafter be classified as a regional road. It is anticipated that the route will ease traffic congestion at bottlenecks and will greatly benefit the local community by improving the environment. It is estimated that time savings during off-peak journey time will be approximately 36 minutes from Dublin to Galway, when the investment programme on the full route has been completed.
The Waterford scheme will provide a bypass of Waterford City for through traffic while allowing traffic on the N25 Cork – Rosslare route to bypass the city. The scheme comprises 23 km of dual carriageway and 4 km of single carriageway construction. It is envisaged that this scheme will involve a 36 month construction period with the road opening in 2005.
Both schemes will go to tender in November, 2000. This will initially involve a pre-qualification process, followed by a detailed tender for the design, construction, financing and operation of the new projects. The duration of the contract period will not be less than thirty years during which time, the concessionaire will substantially recoup the up-front construction costs and on-going operation/road maintenance by the collection of tolls.
Commenting on the process, Michele Connolly, KPMG Corporate Finance, said “These projects are expected to attract significant interest both from within Ireland and on an international scale and are the first of the two PPP road projects to be launched. We expect wide scale interest to come from construction companies all over Europe. Indeed many companies from Central Europe, Portugal and Turkey to name but a few, have already signalled their interest”.
Regarding the projects, Michael Tobin, Chief Executive of the NRA said “We are pleased to announce the development of the first two PPP road projects which brings us closer to realising the objectives of the NDP. This is part of a €6 billion development programme on the Irish national road network. Without the successful completion of the PPP Roads programme 2000 – 2006 the overall roads programme would remain substantially incomplete and current deficiencies would adversely affect the competitiveness of the Irish economy".
The NRA will complete all PPP projects as toll roads in accordance with the strategy of using tolling to the maximum extent possible with the purpose of recouping private sector investment. The NRA proposes to develop toll charges that are at an affordable level for road users. Alternative toll-free routes will be available.