News that the Dublin Bay Project to remove sewage effluent from its waters is to be finished later this month brings to completion one of the most successful pieces of publicly funded engineering seen in this State. It is only slightly delayed and overspent - so much so that the "design, build and operate" approach used has lessons to teach other such projects which have been grossly distorted by construction industry inflation.
All those who use the bay have reason to be thankful that its waters, wildlife and beaches will be cleaner than they have been for 100 years.
This was money well spent on an ecologically imaginative and well-designed project. As the population of Dublin doubled over the last 40 years, the dumping of raw sewage into the bay overwhelmed its absorptive capacity and made swimming, fishing and other recreational activities more and more hazardous. In recent years its dirty condition has become a disgrace. That this should be turned around by a project 10 years in the planning, and a mere three years and four months in the building recalls other successful initiatives, such as the ban on burning bituminous coal imposed by Ms Mary Harney in 1990 which eliminated smog from the capital city.
The Dublin City Council project was 80 per cent paid for by EU structural funds, with the balance made up by a levy on heavy water-users and from the Department of Finance. It was designed and built by the contractors - an Irish, US and UK consortium, giving them an incentive to stay within budgets; they are also to operate the ecologically sophisticated plant for 20 years. It has involved building the longest under-water waste pipe in the world, linking up pumps in Sutton and Dalkey with the newly built three-stage treatment plant in Ringsend. Other Irish cities could learn from this project; already it is attracting attention from EU accession states anxious to learn how best to draw down structural funding for feasible projects to clean up the environment.
Praise and recognition should be accorded where they are due. A striking feature of Ireland's story over the last decade has been a combination of strong economic growth with delayed and increasingly expensive infrastructural renewal. Mounting costs are endangering projects whose completion is essential to ensure growth and development continue. The Dublin Bay project shows this can be done within budgets and on time. The next generation of Dubliners will be grateful for its successful completion.