Bank of Ireland co-finances multi-million N11 / N7 upgrade

Bank of Ireland today, (Tuesday 30 April 2013) announced that it has co-funded a Public Private Partnership (PPP) project to construct and upgrade parts of the N7 and N11 roads. Contracts have been signed, construction will start in July of this year and both road projects are expected to be completed during 2015.  The Bank funded €90 million of the €160 million debt funding requirement for the project.

The N7 element of the project involves the construction of a new flyover at the well-known Newlands Cross junction, thereby removing the last set of traffic lights between Dublin and Cork. The N11 element involves construction of a new road to high quality dual carriageway standard between Rathnew and Gorey, replacing the existing route in the vicinity of Jack Whites and the Beehive public houses. These two road building projects are significant developments for the national road network enhancing not only road safety but also increasing capacity, reducing journey times and thereby benefitting trade and commerce along the routes.

Bank of Ireland, the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) provided the debt funding for these projects, totalling over €160m. The contracts have been awarded to a BAM PPP led consortium and the roads will be constructed and operated by leading Irish contractor BAM Civil Ltd. The construction will result in approximately 1,200 new construction jobs.

Donal Murphy, Director, Project Finance, Bank of Ireland Corporate Banking said:  “The provision of the debt funding for the project, alongside the EIB and NPRF, highlights our continued commitment to the domestic PPP market and follows our funding of the Schools Bundle 3 PPP Project last year. This project brings our funding commitments to the Irish infrastructure market in recent years to over €500m. We are now recognised as the leading project finance team in the Irish market and we look forward to working with BAM PPP, the National Roads Authority, the EIB and NPRF to deliver the N11 and N7 projects.

“This transaction is another very important milestone for the Irish infrastructure market in that it demonstrates that privately financed projects can be delivered, even against the backdrop of the EU/IMF/ECB programme and constrained capital spending. We are confident that these road projects will pave the way for further pipeline projects and Bank of Ireland has confirmed its interest in and commitment to supporting the new wave of PPP projects recently announced as part of the stimulus programme”.

Commenting Tom Hayes, Chief Executive, Bank of Ireland Corporate Banking said:  “This transaction highlights Bank of Ireland’s commitment to supporting Ireland’s recovery. It will create much needed employment during the construction phase and, on completion, will improve transportation efficiencies. As the leading financier of infrastructure projects in the Irish market we look forward to continuing to play a key role in funding critically important infrastructure projects like the N11 / N7”.

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