Motorway operators lose €12.9m on toll road

NUMBERS ON the tolled €491 million motorway linking Dublin to Limerick and Cork have fallen below expectations, according to the operators of the route.

According to accounts just filed by Celtic Roads Group (Portlaoise) Ltd, the average daily traffic at the toll plaza amounted to 16,882 for the period under review last year.

It costs €1.80 for cars to use the toll road and €5.70 for goods vehicles with four or more axles.

The toll plaza became operational on May 28th, 2010, and the figures show for the year to the end of December 2010, the company recorded losses of €12.9 million.

The accounts show that the company recorded revenues of €7.5 million.

The chief factor behind the motorway operator’s loss was interest payments of €10.53 million and non-cash depreciation costs which reached €7.2 million.

In 2010, the Celtic Roads Group completed the 41km M7/M8 Portlaoise to Castletown public private partnership motorway.

The route cuts 45 minutes off the 238km journey time between Dublin and Cork and 10 minutes off the Dublin-Limerick journey time.

The motorway was the final element of the Government’s €18 billion plan to link regional cities to the capital.

The company’s directors “acknowledge that traffic is below that expected at contract close”.

“However, the project is in ramp-up phase and traffic is anticipated to improve in the short to medium term,” the company said.

According to a note attached to the accounts, the directors “have reviewed the financial performance of the company and considered the future projections in light of the actual performance during the year”.

The note states: “The directors are satisfied that based on current projections and with fixed loan and equity finance available, the company will be able to meet its liabilities over the life of the project.”

The figures show that the company has bank loans totalling €205 million. The directors do not recommend the payment of a dividend in the current year.

Separate companies in the Celtic Roads Group operate the tolled routes on the Waterford city bypass and the Dundalk Western bypass on the M1 in Co Louth.

The Celtic Group is co-owned by NTR plc, the Dutch-based Royal BAM Group and the Spanish-based ACS group.