Introduction

On 1st June, 1999, the Minister for Finance announced three pilot Public Private Partnerships (PPPs)  national roads projects for implementation by the Authority.  Those projects were:

• the N25 Waterford By-Pass, incorporating a major river crossing.  This scheme includes 18 km of mainline dual carriageway road and a cable stay bridge over the Suir;
• the Limerick Southern Ring Road Phase 2, including 10km of dual carriageway and a major crossing of the Shannon estuary, and
• the construction of a second bridge at West-Link on the M50 in Dublin.  This scheme involved the amendment of an existing tolling concession in order to provide for a second motorway bridge over the Liffey Valley.

The role of PPPs was further emphasised in the The Government's National Development Plan (NDP) 2000-2006, which identified PPPs as being essential in helping to deliver much-needed infrastructure required on the national road network.

The NDP set a target of securing €1.27b private finance for PPP projects on national roads which represented 23% of the planned total road investment programme under the NDP. This reflected the importance attached by Government to securing the injection of private finance in order to accelerate the delivery of the public capital programme designed to remedy Ireland's infrastructural deficit. Without the injection of additional private finance, progress in the roads programme would be substantially delayed and deficiencies, which threaten regional development and economic growth would fail to be addressed.

PPP schemes similar to those procured in Ireland have been and continue to be used successfully throughout the world as a means of providing a high standard of road infrastructure. At the heart of the PPP approach is the concept that better value for money can be achieved through the utilisation of private sector enterprise due to the enhanced scope for innovation and by allocating the risk to the party best able to manage it. And also, importantly, in a national context, the injection of private finance will accelerate the delivery of the public capital programme.

In June 2000 the National Roads Authority, in accordance with its NDP mandate to secure private investment for developing national roads, identified schemes for procurement as PPP schemes.  All of the PPP schemes were identified to be procured as design/build/finance/operate contracts with a long-term concession period, during which the concessionaire can recoup the large construction and on-going operation costs by the collection of tolls.  The M50 Phase 2 Upgrade was subsequently also procured as a PPP scheme but on an availability payment mechanism rather than the toll revenue payment mechanism included in earlier contracts.

Current Status of National Roads PPP Programme

The National Roads Authority completed the procurement phase of all planned National Roads PPP Contracts.  As of September 2007, the status of each of the projects included in the Authority’s programme of 10 National Road PPP projects was as follows:

• 4 projects completed (the M50 Second West-Link bridge was opened in 2003; the M1 Dundalk Western Bypass was opened on 26 September 2005, some 5 months ahead of schedule; the M4 Kilcock-Enfield-Kinnegad Bypass was opened on 12 December 2005, approx. 10 months ahead of schedule and the Rathcormac-Fermoy Bypass opened in October 2006, some 8 months ahead of schedule)
• 6 projects underway (final contract – M50 Upgrade Phase 2 - awarded in September 2007) with construction completion dates for all six projects in 2010. 

The NRA’s PPP programme has resulted in €2.1billion of private sector funding being secured for national road schemes.

Service Area PPP Programme

The Authority has published a Policy Statement outlining it’s policy on the provision of service areas to cater for users of national roads taking account of the extensive improvements made to the road network in recent years and the programme of further work already planned which will see significant additions to the length of the motorway and dual carriageways standard road throughout the country. 

The introduction of long lengths of motorways and high quality dual carriageways into the network of national roads represents a new chapter in Irish transport history and offers new and exciting opportunities and challenges. One of the consequences of this development is that facilities will be required to cater for road users who wish to rest during their journeys and/or to avail of fuel, toilet and food facilities. 

In May 2007, the Authority advertised Tranche 1 – Service Areas on the National Roads Network to be procured as a PPP Contract.  The Tranche 1 tender competition is intended to comprise the design, construction, operation and financing of three service areas on the national roads network. Two service areas will be located on the M1 motorway and one on the M4 motorway. Each service area will either have facilities on both sides of the motorway or will be accessible from both sides of the motorway.

The design and construction elements of the Contract are currently intended to comprise (in particular, but without limitation) the design and construction of facilities for motorists and their passengers, which provide extensive parking, fuel station, toilet block, Garda enforcement area and restaurant food/outlet facilities.