Selection of Projects for PPP

The Authority focused its selection of PPP projects on planned motorways, high-quality dual carriageways and major river crossings. Such schemes guarantee a high quality route, offering a greatly improved service for road users and have the potential to carry significant traffic volumes. In particular, special consideration was given to the five major inter-urban routes identified in the NDP for substantial investment. These routes are:

• Dublin-Border (M1)
• Galway to Dublin (N4/N6)
• Cork to Dublin (N8)
• Limerick to Dublin (N7)
• Waterford to Dublin (N9)

With its key principles as a guide, the Authority examined a range of schemes, which had been developed in the pre-planning stage to sufficient detail, from which the most suitable were selected for development as PPP projects.  Each potential scheme was assessed to determine the range of private finance that could be attracted on the basis of toll charges. Typical parameter values which have emerged from successful PPP schemes throughout Europe were used.

Coupled with this commercial analysis, a transportation and engineering review was conducted. Current traffic patterns, forecast traffic growth and the numbers and locations of grade-separated junctions were assessed. The capital and operational costs of possible tolling arrangements were broadly identified.

The Authority selected schemes, which it considered:

• were of a size appropriate to the PPP mechanism;
• were commercially 'bankable';
• could attract substantial private finance;
• would attract sufficient private sector interest to ensure good competition at bid stage, and
• would ultimately result in increased value for money for the public sector.