Original cost of M50 toll bridge unknown

THE Government did not even know how much it cost to build the controversial M50 toll bridge before it agreed to a €600 million buyout of the operation in 2008, it has emerged.

The Department of Transport secretary general, Tom O’Mahony, has also revealed how the Government was at a loss as to how much the private company behind the project, National Toll Roads (NTR), had originally invested in the operation before agreeing to a deal which would ensure the company received a €1.15 billion return on its investment.

Under the 2008 deal, the Government agreed to a staggered compensation package which, when added to 18 years of toll revenues, will ensure NTR earns €1,155,786,122 from the traffic-blighted carriageway by 2020.