Ferrovial enters final phase for Irelands first privately-financed toll road

The N4/N6 Kinnegad-Kilcock road, which will cost 224 million euros, is the largest project in Ireland's development plan The company is also pre-qualified for the Dundalk Western By-Pass Madrid. 24 April 2002 Ferrovial, through its concessions subsidiary Cintra, is the only Spanish group to be short-listed in the first tender for the privately-financed construction and operation of a toll road: the N4/N6 Kinnegad-Kilcock Motorway. Costing 224 million euros, the road is the largest project in Ireland's National Development Plan; the concession will run for 30 years. The 35 km road is part of the corridor linking Dublin to the north west. Cintra, which heads a consortium with SIAC, Ireland's third-largest construction company, is competing against Erinroute, a group comprised of Carillon, Balfour Beatty, Egis and WS Atkins. Other bidders in earlier stages of the tender included consortia headed by Dragados and HBG and by Halliburton Brown and Root, Strabag AG, John Sisk and Roadbridge. The final decision is due in August or September this year. A second Irish project Cintra, with partner SIAC, is also pre-qualified for another toll road project: the 12 km. Dundalk Western By-Pass, which will cost approximately 100 million euros and is one of the ten toll roads envisaged in Ireland's National Development Plan 2000-2006. Intense activity in the concessions business Ferrovial is very active in Europe at present. In addition to tenders in Spain (Navarra, Extremadura and access roads to Barajas airport,), it is also bidding in Greece (pre-qualified in first place for a toll road), Portugal (in the final phase of bidding for two toll roads), Italy (pre-qualified for the Milan-Brescia toll road