BAM plotting a steady course in face of adversity

Theo Cullinane, CEO of BAM, says the company is looking to the future with confidence

BAM completed the N25 New Ross Bypass PPP scheme at the end of 2019, which includes the Rose Fitzgerald-Kennedy Bridge, the longest extradosed bridge of its type in the world.

2020 was a year like no other, but in the face of adversity BAM continued its work in shaping the face of Ireland as it has done for over 60 years, delivering some of the nation’s most innovative and iconic private and public infrastructure.

Theo Cullinane, CEO of BAM.

Looking at Ireland’s major developments, it is clear to see the influence that US Foreign Direct Investment has had in the Irish business landscape, and the positive influence it is having on the modernisation of Ireland. 

At BAM we have longstanding relationships with inbound corporations to help make their Irish business visions a reality and we are keen to continue these while also establishing new ones through the quality of our work. BAM has a proven track record of building corporate headquarters, data centres and hi-tech and production facilities for many of the leading FDI companies located in Ireland and has provided the physical infrastructure that has opened the country for investment. As a global leading company in sustainability, we put the environment at the centre of everything we do.

The completion of the N25 New Ross Bypass PPP scheme at the end of 2019, which includes the longest extradosed bridge of its type in the world, the Rose Fitzgerald-Kennedy Bridge, has greatly improved connectivity in the South East of the country and reduced travel times on the strategic Cork to Rosslare corridor – which we are now seeing the benefits of with Rosslare’s resurgence.

In Mayo works are ongoing on the N5 Westport to Turlough Road Scheme by the BAM-Wills JV. This project is the Government’s largest ever investment in Mayo’s road network, involving the construction of a 20.3km dual carriageway which will see a major improvement for road users in the area.

The much-anticipated Boland’s Quay development in Dublin’s South Docklands for Google is now complete, comprising of approximately 36,800m² of office, residential, retail and cultural space. Google acquired the development in a bid to expand its EMEA HQ, which will boost US capital investment in Ireland and create vibrant new civic spaces and retail amenities in the Docklands area.

We were pleased to be awarded with the Irish Construction Excellence Awards’ 2019 Project of the Year for our work on Microsoft’s Irish headquarters, One Microsoft Place in Leopardstown. This was a complex, large-scale project and one of the most ambitious US FDI-related projects that BAM has undertaken. We have also delivered data centres for high profile clients across the continent in cities such as Dublin, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, and Utrecht. In Leixlip, BAM continues construction works on a large-scale microprocessor campus. BAM has been an ever-present on this FDI campus for over thirty years.

In the agri-food sector, BAM recently installed a new Evaporator and Dryer in Mallow for Dairygold and was responsible for the redevelopment and expansion of the company’s Food Ingredients Facility in Mogeely. BAM also delivered the adjacent Jarlsberg Cheese plant for TINE, Norway’s largest dairy product cooperative. The environmentally friendly plant has the capacity to produce up to 20,000 tonnes of cheese a year.

BAM has completed the Boland’s Quay development in Dublin’s South Docklands for Google, comprising of approximately 36,800m² of office, residential, retail and cultural space.

BAM Ireland CEO Theo Cullinane commented: “Sustainability is at the heart of everything we do. When we talk about sustainability at BAM, we think of three things – Climate Change, People and Resources. Globally, BAM is committed to having what we call a Net Positive Impact in these three areas by 2050.

In January, we were pleased with the announcement that we once again achieved a leadership place on the ‘A List’ with the Global Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) for Climate Change. This ranks us in the top 2% of thousands of companies worldwide which disclosed their environmental impact through the Project.”

BAM is delighted this year to see its partnership with the Marlet Property Group continue to grow. BAM is now constructing multiple projects for Marlet, including Lime Street Residential comprising of 216 apartments, The Shipping Office on Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, designed to an exceptionally high standard to achieve LEED & Wiredscore Platinum Certification providing 177,000 sq ft of office space across eight storeys and finally the Green Acres Residential development beside Airfield’s urban farm in Dundrum comprising of 253 apartments.

BAM’s extensive portfolio of healthcare projects is progressing well. In Dublin, the new National Children’s Hospital (NCH), the largest healthcare infrastructure project in the history of the State is well underway. Works are complete at the NCH Satellite Centre at Blanchardstown, while the Tallaght Satellite is near completion, providing state-of-the-art care facilities for future generations.

In Cork, BAM is overseeing the six-acre Horgan’s Quay development. The development has a hotel, more than 230 apartments, retail facilities and three office blocks that can accommodate 5,000 employees. The offices have been designed to the LEED v4 Gold Standard, the newest version of LEED green building specialised for a better user experience, while adopting the latest in efficient, sustainable technology.

We are instrumental in delivering vital infrastructure at no upfront cost to the State through public-private partnership (PPP). Using this model, we have provided 11 schools under Schools PPP Bundles 3&4 and seven courthouses throughout the country in recent years. Our six PPP motorway schemes covering almost 700 kilometres of national primary route infrastructure are instrumental in attracting significant inward investment. We are also responsible for the long-term facilities management of these building and infrastructure PPP projects.

Commenting on this, Mr Cullinane said; “We began investing at a time when bank finance was not available to the State. We are committed to continue investing in Ireland’s future in this manner. We firmly believe that PPP has a key role to play in strengthening Ireland’s infrastructure and improving accessibility for global firms to invest in all regions of the country.

"A collaborative approach provides certainty for both client and contractor. We have seen this using the PPP approach, where collaboration and co-operation provides certainty for all parties. We must now ensure that appropriate risk-sharing is embedded in all procurement models going forward. Ireland’s public infrastructure must match that of the best in the world if we are to remain competitive in attracting the best in world.”

www.bamireland.ie