Two stalled motorway schemes have received a boost with the Department of Transport confirming that the European Investment Bank (EIB) has provided loan approval in principle for the next phase of the Atlantic Corridor, the €530 million Gort to Tuam route and the €350 million N7 Newlands Cross/N11 Arklow – Rathnew.
According to the Department of Transport, the EIB is providing a loan in principle of up to €170 million for the Gort-Tuam route and up to €75 million to the Newlands Cross project.
Work was due to start on the Gort-Tuam route in the first quarter of 2010, but the private sector partner, the BAM Balfour Beatty consortium was not able to secure suitable funding due to concerns about Ireland’s sovereign debt.
The loan approvals in principle are part of a wider EIB initiative to provide finance for Irish infrastructural projects.