Prime/Balfour Beatty chosen for first healthcare PPP project

A consortium, which includes Balfour Beatty, JJ Rhatigan and Aramark, has been chosen as preferred tenderer to provide 14 new primary care centres in Ireland as part of Ireland's first healthcare Public Private Partnership (PPP) project.

The €140 million scheme, which is part of the Government’s €2.25 billion Infrastructure Stimulus Programme, will provide a network of primary care facilities integrating primary, community and continuing care and social services.

The scheme encompasses the design, build, finance and maintenance of the primary care centres along with ongoing facility management services. Healthcare services will be managed by the Health Service Executive (HSE) after the centres have been constructed.

Construction is expected to commence in the fourth quarter of the year with delivery of the first primary care centre due to open late in 2016 and the final centre due for delivery a year later.

The new centres are to be built across 14 sites in Ballymote, Boyle, Claremorris Westport, Tuam, Ballinrobe, Limerick, Dungarvan, Carrick on Suir, Waterford City (East), Wexford Town, Kilcock, Summerhill and Coolock.

The Prime/Balfour Beatty consortium won out against tenders from two other consortia, namely BAM PPP and Kajima: gb partnerships Ltd.

The project is one of the first four European schemes earmarked to receive funding through the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), an initiative between the European Commission and the European Investment Bank.

Brian Murphy, director of the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA), which is responsible for the procurement of the project, said the selection of a preferred tenderer was a significant development.