€230m paid out for PPP projects

ON HOLD:MORE THAN €230 million was paid out by the State on various transport, education and health projects that were to have been delivered by public-private partnerships but have now been cancelled or put on hold.

The comptroller’s report states that €216 million was spent on preparatory work on three large-scale transport projects: Metro North, Dart Underground and Metro West.

All three projects have been postponed by the Government.

The report says €51 million had been spent on enabling works for Metro North, a further €31 million on design and public-private partnership procurement and €25 million on property acquisition.

Nearly €20 million was spent on design and public-private partnership procurement for the Dart Underground project.

The report says €1 million has been paid out in compensation to one of the underbidders for the Metro North project for verifiable tendering costs as allowed in the event of the process being deferred.

The comptroller’s report says that more than €10 million was spent on preparing an application for a railway order for the Metro West project.

It says 13 properties were purchased by the Rail Procurement Agency to facilitate the Metro North development. These properties continue to be held by the agency.

The report says that €10 million has been spent on public-private partnership projects in the education sector.

“In November 2011, it was announced that three planned bundles of third-level public-private partnership projects would be cancelled. For each of these bundles the National Development Finance Agency had procured and provided technical, legal, financial insurance and other required services for the PPP process. Total expenditure on these projects was €10.1 million, comprising consultancy costs of €4.4 million and enabling works of €5.7 million.”

The report also says that €4.1 million was spent on a plan to develop radiation oncology facilities around the country under a public-private partnership process. This is now to be funded by traditional means.