Vol. 535 No. 1
394 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for the Environment and Local Government the steps he has taken in response to the statement by the National Roads Authority that the £4.7 billion road building programme cannot be completed without a £1 billion cash injection from the private sector. [11579/01]
The National Development Plan 2000-2006 envisages significant private sector investment in national road development – £1 billion of the £4.4 billion provided for national road improvements in the NDP is to be sourced from private finance through public private partnership financing.
In addition to the three pilot national roads projects already identified in the plan, the National Roads Authority has announced a further eight PPP schemes for the national road network. The total construction costs of the 11 schemes is £1.2 billion (1.5 billion) and it is expected that these schemes will attract potential private finance of £700 million (900 million).
In accordance with the Roads Act, 1993, it is a matter for the National Roads Authority to promote the detailed programming of the work required for the NDP and to manage in co-operation with local authorities – and the private sector in the context of public private partnerships – the planning, design and implementation of individual road development projects.
