Leading European firms in Dart Underground shortlist

SOME OF Europe’s largest construction companies and international banks are involved in the consortiums shortlisted to build Dart Underground.

Iarnród Éireann yesterday announced names of four consortiums which have been shortlisted for the €2.5 billion project. The four include:

The BBI consortium which comprises:

– Balfour Beatty Capital, one of the largest UK private sector investors in healthcare, education, roads and infrastructure;

– BAM PPP, part of the Royal BAM Group, a Netherlands-based €9 billion construction services company;

– Iridium Concesiones de Infraestructuras, a Spanish engineering group which was part of the Celtic Roads Group (Portlaoise) consortium – alongside BAM PPP and NTR plc – which built the recently opened M7/M8 motorway.

The City Connect Consortium comprises:

– Macquarie, a global manager of transport, roads, airports and utilities funds. Founded in 1969, it employs more than 14,600 people in about 70 locations in 28 countries;

– Cintra Infraestructuras, owner of toll roads and car parks to a value of about €16 billion in Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Chile, Canada and the United States;

– Global Via Infraestructuras, which has developed seven rail projects, 15 toll roads, two airports and seven ports.

Of these, the N6 Galway to Ballinasloe project and the M50 upgrade project are major Irish PPP road project and the company is also involved with Macquarie in the Metro Express consortium bidding for Metro North.

The third consortium, NascRail Consortium, comprises:

– OHL Concessions, which operates 22 toll roads covering a total of 4,400km;

– Soares da Costa Concessoes SGPS, a Portuguese-based group active in the construction of roads, residential and commercial buildings, stadiums and tunnels;

– Bombardier, which manufactures aircraft and trains and employs almost 63,000 people around the world;

– AIB, the well-known Irish bank;

– Pierse Contracting, the leading building and civil engineering contractor operating in Ireland.

The fourth consortium is the Toto Consortium which comprises:

– Toto Costruzioni Generali, Societa Italiana per Condotte d’Acqua, Ansaldo STS, Condotte Immobiliare, Torrena Scavi and Rocksoil.

The membership of this Italian consortium is involved in the building of railways, roads and tunnels and includes specialists in underground projects and operations in mass transit and real estate.

Dart Underground is to be a 7.6km tunnel under Dublin city centre linking Docklands station with Heuston via Pearse Station and new stations at St Stephen’s Green and Inchicore.