Hegarty-led group wins €930m M50 contract

A consortium led by builders PJ Hegarty has won a €930 million contract to upgrade and maintain one of the Republic's busiest motorways.

The National Roads Authority (NRA) yesterday awarded a 35-year contract for the second phase of the upgrading of the M50 motorway around Dublin to the group, made up of PJ Hegarty and Spanish companies FCC and Itinere Infraestructuras.

The deal is worth a total of €933.3 million over the contract's 35-year lifespan. This includes the basic payment and over €20 million in VAT.

Under its terms, the consortium, known as M50 (Concession) Ltd, is obliged to upgrade two sections of the motorway, from Westlink bridge to the airport interchange, and from Ballymount to Sandyford, and then to maintain the entire road for 35 years. The group is also obliged to hand the road back to the State after 35 years in such a condition that it will not require any further maintenance for another 10 years.

The money will be paid in yearly instalments of €20.8 million from the point at which the group has finished the upgrade. It is due to complete this work in 2010.

The cost will be funded from the new barrier-free tolling system that is due to come on stream next year. Currently, the Exchequer foots the bill for maintaining the M50 through the three Dublin local authorities.

The NRA wants the new system to be self-financing through the toll charges, which means that the money will no longer have to come from the State's coffers.

The contract is a public-private partnership. The type of arrangement used by the NRA is called a "design, build, operate and maintain" contract.

The authority is using a similar model for the Shannon tunnel in Limerick.

A consortium whose members include Irish civil engineering group, SIAC and another Spanish operator, Ferrovial, is working on the first phase of the M50 upgrade, which runs from Ballymount to the M4 interchange. That work is due to be finished next year.

The upgrading work involves widening the motorway, adding new lanes and extending the flyovers and other features.

Sources yesterday described the M50 (Concession) Ltd bid as "aggressive" by industry standards. The other bidders for the deal were also international groups with Irish partners, including Sisk, SIAC and Coffey Construction.