A partnership between Spanish infrastructure giant Sacyr and builder Wills Brothers has won a €265 million contract to construct a tunnel under Dublin Airport’s airfield.
State company DAA plans to link the western section of the airport with its piers with a 1.1km tunnel under its aircraft taxiways and one of its runways.
DAA announced on Thursday that it has given the lucrative contract to build the tunnel to Sacyr Ireland and Wills Brothers Ltd.
The joint venture is due to finish the work by August 2030, the airport company confirmed.
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Sacyr is a Spanish-listed infrastructure and engineering group with operations in 15 countries. It earned revenues of almost €4.6 billion last year.
[ Ryanair loses challenge to Dublin Airport tunnel planOpens in new window ]
Its Irish arm’s projects include the maintenance of the Dart light rail electricity systems. It won a €76 million eight-year deal for this work 12 months ago.
Wills Brothers is a 50-year-old civil engineering business with operations here, in Britain and Europe. The company works on road, bridge and infrastructure building.
The company previously worked with Sacyr on the A6 Dungiven to Drumahoe road for the Department of Infrastructure in Northern Ireland.
Critics of DAA, including its biggest airline customer, Ryanair, have branded the Dublin Airport tunnel plan a waste of money.
Airlines closely watch spending at the country’s biggest airport as they help cover costs through passenger charges, which regulators are currently reviewing.
However, DAA maintains that the tunnel is needed to allow cargo operators, fuel and catering trucks and loaders reach the “remote western apron” from the airport’s eastern side, where most services are based.
Kenny Jacobs, DAA chief executive, argued that the underpass was about “keeping people safe and the airport moving”.
“It’s a critical piece of infrastructure that’ll make a big difference, cutting travel times, boosting efficiency and future-proofing the place as we grow,” he said.
Vincent Harrison, DAA’s chief commercial and development officer, stressed the project was vital to safe and efficient operations.
Alejandro Mendoza, director of operations at Sacyr UK, Ireland and Sweden, said the firm looked forward to working with DAA to aid Dublin’s development as a transatlantic hub.
Aidan McCaul, contracts director at Wills Brothers noted that the underpass was urgently needed following the opening of the airport’s north runway three years ago.
