Profits rise at M3 motorway operator

A 13.5 per cent increase in daily traffic volumes on one of the most controversial road schemes ever built in the State helped its operators generate €219,730 per week in operating profits last year.

New figures show that the M3 Motorway recorded €11.42 million in operating profits for its private operator, Eurolink Motorway Operations (M3) Ltd last year. Revenues at the firm were down by 7 per cent to €18.38 million.

The directors said “traffic levels recovered well in 2021 having been previously impacted by Covid-19″. Pretax profits were 2 per cent lower at €5.73 million.

The 51-kilometre M3 that runs from Clonee to north of Kells, Co Meath was built at a cost of almost €1 billion. It was the largest infrastructure scheme delivered through a public-private partnership (PPP) at the time. The motorway was the subject of a series of protests as it runs near the ancient Hill of Tara, bypassing Dunshaughlin, Navan and Kells.

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The firm’s revenues are made up of road tolls and operational payments from Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII). Last year revenues from the company’s financial asset totalled €10.99 million and operating cost income amounted to €7.39 million.

The payments from TII include traffic guarantee payments that are paid if volumes of motorists using the tolled route falls short of agreed targets. The guarantee was put in place due to the high cost of the route and the challenge of delivering it.

There are two toll plazas, one at Pace, between Dunshaughlin and Clonee, and one at Grange, between Navan and Kells.