DAA tenders for eight-year €425m upgrade of Dublin Airport

State company DAA is about to begin tendering for long-term airfield and landside work at Dublin Airport with potential value of €425 million that could run up to 2029.

DAA, responsible for Cork and Dublin airports, said last month that it was begining procurement processes for projects likely to be needed over the medium-term, allowing work to begin when air travel begins recovering from Covid-19 restrictions.

The company began seeking contractors on Friday for airfield and landside developments that it said had a “potential indicative investment level of up to €425 million” over the next eight years.

The projects in the overall package going out to tender include new aircraft stands, rehabilitating parts of its runway aprons, and a vehicle underpass linking the eastern and western parts of the airfield.

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It also includes widening and extending airfield taxiways and upgrading the electrical network serving the airport.

Along with this, DAA wants to upgrade Dublin Airport’s environmental systems, install new electrical charging points for vehicles and equipment operated by ground handling companies, add public electric vehicle charging points and upgrade airfield lighting systems to energy efficient LED fittings.

The company’s procurement documents, published on Friday, state that the list of projects is indicative and subject to change.

They note that “the scale, scope and timing of the works in question may be amended as many projects are subject to planning permission being granted”.

Schedule review

DAA is keeping the construction schedule of its overall Dublin Airport capital programme under review, given the significant negative impact that Covid-19 has had on air travel.

The projects included in the tender process begun on Friday were either carried over from the airport’s last capital programme or are included in the current investment plan.

That plan received approval last year from the Commission for Aviation Regulation, the independent body that sets charges at Dublin Airport.

A DAA spokesman said last month that the company is “adopting a twin track approach to the Dublin Airport capital programme” .

It is moving ahead with “activities such as procurement and planning as these do not require significant capital investment at this point”.

Procurement

The spokesman pointed out that beginning procurement now would safeguard Dublin Airport’s long-term requirements and help get the projects completed in a cost-efficient manner.

DAA hopes to appoint contractors in the autumn. Given the scale of the work, it is likely that companies will form groups to bid jointly for the business, which is being divided into two specific lots.

Last month, DAA started procurement on a five-year programme of enabling works for the capital programme at Dublin Airport.

This work has a potential value of between €30 million and €50 million and is planned to run until September 2026.

Passenger numbers at Dublin Airport fell by 78 per cent last year due to the impact of the global Covid-19 pandemic. The underlying traffic performance was masked by a strong start to the year, as passenger numbers declined by 89 per cent between March and December.