€75k for cost benefit analysis of National Gallery plan

The National Gallery is to pay consultants up to €75,000 to provide an economic assessment that will include a cost benefit analysis on its proposed €50m to €60m final phase of its Master Development Plan (MDP).

The National Gallery is Ireland’s premier cultural attraction, drawing on average 700,000 visitors each year to view works including Caravaggio’s The Taking of Christ.

Along with Caravaggio’s masterpiece, the gallery is also home to masterpieces by Rembrandt, Monet, Renoir, and Picasso, while it holds collections of Irish art including works by John Lavery, Jack B Yeats, and Louis le Brocquy.

Working is currently continuing on phases two and three of the MDP that was first devised in 2006.

The works on the historic wings of the gallery that make up 70% of its space are expected to be complete next year and it will be equipped as a world leading gallery space.

After that completion, the gallery then hopes to commence work on what it called its ‘final and transformative’ phase which will cost the estimated €50m to €60m.

The gallery currently employs over 100 staff, provides free access to the public 361 days a year, and the most recent annual report for 2014 showed the gallery received €12m in funds from the exchequer that year.

According to tender documents for the economic assessment, the final phase will involve the construction of a new building on site and provide the kinds of visitor experiences and facilities which are increasingly becoming the norm in the international museum and gallery investment.

The project is to include a 300-seat auditorium; a modern visual art library and a centre of conservation.

However, before the gallery can proceed with the plan, it must first complete the assessment and the cost benefit analysis to be submitted to the Department of Public Expenditure.

The National Gallery is home to works including Caravaggio’s ‘The Taking of Christ’

The cost benefit analysis is required by the department’s spending code for capital projects examining the impact on Phase 4 on general gallery activity; visitor numbers; economic benefits to the business; the economic benefits to the State; job creation during construction and other direct and indirect economic impacts.

The tender documentation also states that the economic assessment is to also support the case for further public and private funding towards the completion of Phase 4.

The National Gallery states that the market will deliver the project within the budget range of €50,000 and €75,000 (excluding Vat).

The gallery states that the successful tenderer will be expected to lodge an interim report within two months of the contract award and a final report four months after the contract award.

Tenders must be lodged by Monday, April 11, next.