Firms to bid for Curragh contract

Sisk and Hegarty are understood to be among the construction players in the running for a €100 million contract to redevelop one of the Republic's leading racecourses.

Tenders were invited late last year for the contract to redevelop the stands on the Curragh racecourse in Co Kildare, a project valued at around €100 million.

It has since emerged that a number of companies have reached the pre-qualification stage for the main contract. This means that they will be asked to go ahead and bid for the project.

According to industry sources, Sisk and Hegarty, two of the Republic's biggest building and civil engineering businesses have reached this stage.

The original notice appeared on the Government's public procurement website, Etenders.gov.

ie. The Curragh redevelopment is receiving €35 million in funding via State body Horse Racing Ireland (HRI), the agency that administers the sport.

The Turf Club, a private organisation that is responsible for regulating horse racing, actually owns the Curragh.

The project is part of an overall redevelopment programme for Irish racecourses that will also include a revamp of Leopardstown in Dublin and some work at Fairyhouse in Co Meath.

Most recently, work was completed on a new all-weather race track in Dundalk, Co Louth. Sisk was the main contractor on that project. All-weather tracks facilitate year-round flat racing, which normally halts in the winter and early spring.

Other building firms who have been involved with redeveloping racecourses include Pierse, whose founder, Ged Pierse, is heavily involved in the sport, Ascon Rohcon, Walls, and McNamara, which was involved in the most recent work on Ballybrit, home of the Galway Festival.

The Curragh redevelopment has been planned for some time and a number of figures from the racing and bloodstock industries have supported the plan.

The Aga Khan, owner of Giltown Stud in Kildare, bought the Stand House Hotel at the rear of the existing Curragh stands and gave ownership to the Turf Club. The hotel will become part of the new stand development.

John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith, three of the principals behind the Tipperary-based global stud operation Coolmore, have agreed to sponsor a new ring road around the course.

The development overcame the final hurdle facing it when the High Court ruled against a bid by local group Friends of the Curragh Environment to halt the demolition of the existing stand.

The Curragh is the headquarters of Irish racing and is home to high profile contests such as the Irish Derby, Oaks, and 2,000 and 1,000 Guineas.