Movement on motorway completion at last
Provision for funding is in place for the consortium chosen to construct the Gort to Tuam motorway – with expectations now that long-awaited contracts will finally be signed in December.
Construction of the 57 kilometre motorway will commence early in the New Year and will be fully completed by 2017 – and it will be the last major infrastructural project in the country for some time, costing in the region of €550m to complete.
As it stands, the National Roads Authority has already spent around €150m on the project and this was mainly in the acquisition of lands along the route.
Land was acquired when prices were at a record high which means that many property owners were left financially secure as a result of the compulsory purchase orders that were issued against them.
It is a much delayed project but the consortium chosen to construct the M17/M18 motorway are close the financing of the project before the end of the year. Basically, they have been allocated funding from European banks to complete the project.
Funding for the motorway has been a major obstacle in the project kicking off but it has been confirmed that there are lending institutions willing to back the consortium both here and abroad.
The motorway will be constructed on a public private partnership arrangement. This means that the consortium approved for the project will provide the route and will be paid back by the State over a 25 year period.
See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.