Road plan costs set to treble, warns CIF

THE cost overrun in the National Development Plan on roads is set to treble, the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) warned yesterday.

The original plan cost the roads programme €5.8 billion in 1999 while the CIF says at todays prices the cost is now a massive €16 billion.

In its Mid-Term Review and Outlook the CIF’s director general, Liam Kelleher said the completion date for the programme had to be put realistically at 2010.

“CIF now believes that 2010 is a more realistic target,” he said.

To ensure no further delays, Mr Kelleher said the national Roads Authority should be obliged to produce a seven year schedule of road projects with a view to meeting the deadline.

In its review the CIF has estimated that between 2004 and 2010 €15.25bn will be required to complete the roads programme.

To ensure adequate funding Mr Kelleher said the National Pension Reserve Fund should be diverted to funding the roads programme as a mater of urgency.

In the context of boosting our infrastructure, the suggestion by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) that this be done made huge sense, he said.

Evidence exists that there is a cut back on capital spending because politically that is the easier option.

If that is the case “it is exactly the reverse of what the economy needs,” said Mr Kelleher.

Elsewhere in its review the CIF expressed serious concern about the state of the waste management programme.

Don O’Sullivan, said that as the director of main contracting in CIF, solid waste management “is the one (issue) I have the greatest concern about.”

Under the NDP €825m has been targeted for investment in this key area.

Of that €571m was to be furnished by the private sector. So far no investment has been made.

The direct result of this is Dublin will run out of waste disposal sites within five years.

The crisis in waste disposal is reaching dangerous proportions and Mr O’Sullivan has called for a political consensus on the way forward.

“I would appeal to politicians to refrain from making a political football of the waste issue,” he said.

Mr O’Sullivan said the state of waste management is costing us in terms of inward investment.

We have reached the point where we need the establishment of a National Waste Authority to deal with the crisis, he said.

“The CIF believes that eliminating our infra structural deficit is the key to future growth and prosperity. We support the recent analysis of the ESRI on the need to concentrate resources on economic and social infrastructure,” Mr O’Sullivan said.

Given the pressure on the national resources it was imperative that alternative funding sources are found to ensure Ireland can make the most of the economic recovery when it comes, he added.