Motorway in doubt as consortium gets the jitters

Date Published: 06-Oct-2010

The consortium chosen to develop the proposed Gort to Tuam motorway is understood to have had second thoughts about funding the project because of Ireland’s economic downturn.

Sources suggest that the financial backers behind BAM Balfour Beatty – confirmed by the National Roads Authority last month as the preferred bidder to construct the €500m M17/M18 motorway – are getting “jittery” about investing in such a major project in a country that is plunging deeper into debt.

It is understood that the investors in the public private partnership (PPP) scheme are becoming apprehensive about investing in such a major project in this country in view of the current economic situation and the instability of the Government.

And to further compound the problem, the Connacht Tribune has learned that the NRA will not commit to funding for the project because the contractors for the project do not have their funding in place as yet.

This means that the contract documents for the 57 kilometre route will not be signed at the end of this month as was expected and there is no definite time frame for this to happen.

The €500 million project has now been thrown into uncertainty and is fully dependent on the necessary finances becoming available for the project.

The bottom line is that all of this could set the project back indefinitely – at the very least.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.