Spending billions on infrastructure is a risky business ‘Lowest bid wins’ approach to tenders needs to change, say both sides of process
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Building roads is a precise feat of engineering, but according to one industry veteran, the current system for awarding and winning contracts induces some imprecise guesswork. “You’re there the night before [submitting a bid], you have to write up the bill,” a source confides. “We need the work; the lads are available, the crews are available, what do we have to do to win it?”
Many of the contracts awarded by the State boil down to one simple factor: price. And when you’re awarding billions of euros in contracts, it’s only right and proper that due emphasis be placed on how much is being paid. However, that can also lead to a race to the bottom, with nasty fallout afterwards. To get the best chance of winning a project, insiders say, some – literal – sunny assumptions are made.
Minister McGrath publishes Phase 1 Report - Review of the National Development Plan
Phase 1 Report - Review of the National Development Plan.
National Development Plan Phase 1 Report 2021
National Development Plan Phase 1 Report 2021Download
The work carried out as part of Phase 1 sets the scene for the important decisions to be made as the NDP Review process reaches completion.
The report, prepared by the National Investment Office in the Department of Public Expenditure & Reform, sets out a strong evidence base including:
• Macro-Economic analysis
• Consideration of Climate Action, Housing and Planning; and
• Alignment with the National Planning Framework.
The Phase 1 report includes detail of the successful public consultation process, Review to Renew, which generated 572 submissions.
Kilkenny s northern ring road extension faces spending code hurdle kilkennypeople.ie - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kilkennypeople.ie Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Frustration is mounting that the contract to build the Arklow wastewater treatment plant (WwTP) has not yet been signed, as a government project tracker puts the cost range for the entire project at between €100 million and €250 million.
Irish Water is waiting for approval from the Minister for Housing to sign a contract for the development of the Arklow WwTP as the project s cost is greater than €20 million.
The pricetag for the development of the new plant at the Old Wallboard Factory site was estimated at €30 million in 2015. However, a spokesperson for Irish Water told this paper that the €30 million figure was the preliminary cost of building the WwTP and did not include the full scope of the works .
A coastal erosion plan commissioned by Irish Rail will cost in the region of €145 million to carry out works along the coastline from Bray to the Murrough in Wicklow town.
Iarnród Éireann commissioned Arup to review the Irish Coastal Protection Strategy Study (ICPSS) and revise and forecast erosion rates for the coastline from Ringsend to Wicklow town. Irish Rail extended the study to Arklow as Wicklow County Council was interested.
Marc Devereux, senior engineer, Environmental Section, provided the elected members with a presentation of the study findings at Monday s meeting of Wicklow County Council.
The plans fit in with Wicklow County Council s Climate Action and the Department of Transport has approved funding for Irish Rail to progress the project from Merrion Gates in Dublin to Wicklow town.