Big capital projects may not go ahead in credit crunch

MAJOR capital projects planned by local authorities may not go ahead this year owing to new government restrictions on their ability to borrow money.

The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government admitted yesterday projects that could not be funded directly from income generated by local authorities themselves could face difficulties.

A recent circular issued by the department instructed all local authorities “to initially examine all sources of internal funding before applying for loan sanction”.