Fixed-price contracts for developments such as roads, railways, schools and hospitals are expected to be introduced by the Government in the near future.
At the official opening of the Dundalk western bypass yesterday, the Minister for Transport announced plans to introduce the new contracts shortly.
Martin Cullen said meetings were taking place this week to "progress the delivery of fixed-price contracts. I want to see the rules of contracting changed so that contractors bear the construction risk cost involved. The old style of contracts where any additional costs fell to the taxpayer resulted in increased and inflated outcomes."
He did not believe such contracts would be subject to legal action which could hold up projects "if we get them right at the start".
"That's why these discussions are taking place to make sure we are getting these technical issues out of the way before we move forward. "
Mr Cullen said such issues would benefit all parties. "You keep looking at how you are doing your business with the construction industry; you keep making sure you are doing it better.
"Fixed-price contracting is part of that process. The Department and Minister for Finance are engaged with the construction industry and we are strongly supporting that."
He also said that public private partnership (PPP) contracts had a huge contribution to make by "marrying" private and public-sector money to get projects completed. The Dundalk western bypass is a PPP and it is the first such completed scheme.
It was constructed by Celtic Roads Group.
The 11km bypass is part of the main Dublin-Belfast road. It cost close to €120 million to construct, excluding land costs of €150 million, and will take about 30 minutes off the journey between Belfast and Dublin. There is now more than 90km of continuous motorway between north Co Dublin and Ballymascanlon, north Louth. It is expected to take about 10,000 vehicles off the Dundalk inner relief road and will open up a large parcel of land to the west of the town for possible development.
Mr Cullen said the road was hugely significant for the north-east region as well as the State's road network. Balanced regional development was "an economic and political imperative".
"If Ireland is to continue to have a prosperous future and, critically, one in which quality of life is enhanced, we cannot allow a situation to persist where growth is skewed towards one particular region. It is in nobody's interest that Dublin continues to act as a pool into which the country's resources and people are almost hypnotically drawn."
Peter Malone, chairman of the National Roads Authority, said the next stage of the upgrading of the road from Dublin to the Border was the completion of the Dundalk-Newry link road, due to open in early 2007.