BAM wins contract to build new courthouses

Construction and engineering group BAM has as expected won a State contract to build a number of courthouses in the State and refurbish several others.

BAM, which is the Irish subsidiary of multinational Royal Dutch BAM, was confirmed as the preferred bidder for the contract on Monday.

Three divisions of the group joined forces under the flag of BAM PPP PGGM to bid for the work.

The group was competing with three others: a consortium made up of PJ Hegarty and G4S; another from multinational Carillion; and a fourth from John Sisk & Son and Sodexo Ireland, which was backed by Australian bank, Macquarie.

The contract is to develop four new courthouse buildings in Drogheda, Letterkenny, Limerick and Wexford, as well as refurbishing four others in Cork, Mullingar, Waterford and Wexford.

Construction is expected to commence in November with final delivery due by November 2017.

The €135 million project is a public private partnership (PPP), which forms part of the Government’s €2.25 billion Infrastructure Stimulus Programme announced in 2012.

The National Development Finance Agency (NDFA), part of the National Treasury Management Agency and the procuring body and financial advisor to the Courts Service, said the upgrade to the new facilities should lead to a reduction in waiting times and litigation costs.