Joint investors key to crisis in infrastructure

The importance of public/private partnerships (PPPs) in implementing the National Development Plan's objectives on infrastructure was emphasised yesterday by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern. Speaking at a conference on the partnerships, which involve joint projects between public sector and private sector investors, he said they were increasingly being regarded in Government as a means of reducing the "infrastructure deficit" which was the problem of success.

"I believe they can be one vital way of tackling the infrastructure crisis in Ireland," he told the conference in Dublin, organised by the Institute of Public Administration.

Mr Ahern said The National Development Plan was an Irish national project. "The EU element is not of great significance," he added.

The challenge was to see how much could be done and choose the means to do it.

Mr Jim O'Brian, head of the Department of Finance's central public/private partnership unit, said the benefit for the public sector was the allocation of risks "to the party best able to manage them" and the "capture" of private sector innovation and expertise.

Roads and elements of the Luas project had been identified as PPP priorities, he said. Proposed road projects include the new river crossing in Limerick, the Waterford bypass and new bridge and the second West Link bridge in Dublin. All are proposed toll projects.

Solid waste management and water supply facilities, and certain schools projects, have also been cited as pilot projects.

Mr O'Brian said PPPs would play an important role in the new National Development Plan, which is due to be published within the next few weeks. "The challenges ahead are great, but by working together in partnership, real progress can be made," he said.

The National Roads Authority PPP manager, Mr Gerard Murphy, said that, along with the Dublin, Limerick and Waterford projects, the authority was examining the Kilcock-Kinnegad section of the Dublin-Galway road as a PPP project. He said the Dublin Port Tunnel project was the first publicly-funded project to involve toll charges, but tolling had encountered "minimal" public opposition.

"The public has accepted that tolling is not unreasonable for a high-class facility which will provide a high-quality service to users within a congested urban network," he said.

Mr Ciaran Blair, development director with National Toll Roads, said the proposed eastern relief route was right for a PPP approach. Privatisation had to become "an integral part of the economy", he said.