Two consortia make shortlist for Northern Ireland's largest ever roads scheme

Two teams are to contest the final shoot-out in a £200m-plus battle for the biggest-ever roads deal in Northern Ireland.

After three months of deliberation, the Department for Regional Development in Northern Ireland has gone for a Morgan Sindall/FP McCann/Balfour Beatty group and an Amey/Lagan/Ferrovial consortium to work up best and final offers for the scheme, known as DBFO package two.

Ironically, the news dashes any possibility of a Bilfinger/John Graham/Farrans team of following up its success on DBFO package one (M1/Westlink and M2), which it clinched last year after holding off challenges from the very same groups that are now left in the hunt for package two.

The Bilfinger group also pitched for package two, but its bid has now hit the hard shoulder.

The preferred bidder for package two is due to surface in October, with work on site expected to begin next spring.
The construction period for the entire scheme – which spans the A4, A5 and A1 – is expected to be completed by the close of 2010.

The centrepiece of package two is the upgrading to dual carriageway of 20.5km of the A4 between Dungannon and Ballygawley.

Another major component of the deal is to dual 12km of the A1 between Beechill and Cloghogue and this element of the project is expected to be completed in 2009.

Whichever team finally wins the package two contest will also have to maintain a total of around 125km of roads under the contract’s 30-year maintenance clause.

Package two also includes various other aspects, such as providing grade separated junctions and junction improvements on the A1, realigning the A4 at Annaghilla and the A5 at Tullyvar, plus local improvements to the M1 around Lisburn.