– The project includes building and operating a 50-kilometre toll road between Clonee and North Kells, to the northwest of Dublin
– The M3 represents a construction investment of 575 million euro
– Cintra has reinforced its position in the toll road business in Ireland, where it already manages the N4-N6 (an investment of over 338 million euro)
After being selected as Preferred Tenderer on 19 September 2006, the Eurolink consortium, headed by Cintra, has signed an agreement with the Republic of Ireland’s National Roads Authority (NRA) to design, build, finance and operate (DBFO) the M3 toll road in Ireland under a 45-year concession. Cintra owns 95% of the consortium with Siac Construction Limited, which owns 5% and has the option to attain 25%. Construction work will commence in April.
The M-3 toll road will measure 50 kilometres from Clonee to North Kells (north-west of Dublin). The project also includes the construction of a road between Kells and Carnaross (10 kilometres), the Kells bypass (3.5 kilometres) and related link roads, totalling more over 100 km of new public road.
The project investment is expected to total 575 million euro and will be financed with a 19-year bank loan without recourse to the shareholders (266 million euro) and a government payment during the construction phase (246 million euro). The remainder will be contributed by the shareholders in proportion to their stakes in the consortium.
The M-3 consolidates Cintra’s presence in the transport concession business in Ireland, where in 2003 it obtained a 30-year concession for the N4-N6, the country’s first toll highway to be put out to tender, which represents an investment of over 338 million euro.
With this new project, Cintra has a stake in a total of 20 toll road concessions in Spain (7), Ireland (2), Greece (1), Portugal (2), Chile (5), Canada (1) and the USA (2). It currently has another four projects pending final award, in Italy (1), Greece (1) and the USA (2), and it is awaiting the transfer of the Azores (Portugal) toll road concession from Ferrovial Infraestructuras. Cintra is also Spain’s leading car park operator and manages over 250,000 parking spaces.
