AN AUSTRIAN civil engineer has submitted a proposal to the Department of Transport to build the long-awaited M20 motorway linking Limerick and Cork through an alternative public-private partnership (PPP) scheme that would not involve any initial costs to the State.
According to Vienna-based engineer Dr Oismueller, construction could begin immediately on the project “in spite of current budgetary constraints” as no payments would be made to the PPP company until three years after construction commenced.
However, the Department of Transport would not be drawn on whether the proposal was likely to be given the go-ahead.
The proposal states: “As payments to the PPP company start after the completion of the construction, you gain time to provide financial resources; possible resources could arise, for example, from the end of the M50 Buy Out obligations.
“If construction works start in 2016, payments will start earliest in 2019. Given the fact that the M50 Buy Out obligations will end in 2020, the necessary financing resources should then be available.”
Limerick Senator James Heffernan has been in contact with Dr Oismueller and believes that his proposal “could bring this much-needed project to lift off”.
“It’s a different model of public-private partnership that doesn’t involve any major costs to the State in the initial set up.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Transport told the Limerick Post: “The Department and the NRA (National Roads Authority) separately received correspondence from Dr Alexander Oismueller from Austria regarding methods of procuring a Limerick to Cork motorway through the PPP process.
“Both the Department and the NRA have responded to Dr Oismueller. The Department is aware of the proposals put forward by Dr Oismueller but all proposals for major new projects have to be considered in the context of constrained budgets.”
Senator Heffernan believes that improving Limerick’s road network is vital in terms of attracting investment into the city and county.
“When the M20 was shelved again I certainly felt that Limerick was being let down again. One way that Limerick falls behind the rest of the region is connectivity and the quality of the road network. The roads to Cork, Kerry and Waterford are very poor.
“If we are to attract any kind of investment we need to provide a decent road network. These are Ireland’s second and third cities; it’s not good enough for them not to be connected by a motorway. It doesn’t make sense,” concluded Senator Heffernan.
This week, Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe said the Limerick-Cork motorway would have to compete for “scarce resources” with a number of other road projects in Cork.
He added that funding would be allocated based on what projects would most benefit the region, and offer best value for money.
