SSE has pulled out of the only remaining bidding team in the tender for the Irish National Broadband Plan (NBP) PPP project. Three bidders were shortlisted for the project in 2016, but teams led by Eir, the largest telecommunications operator in the country, and a joint venture between Vodafone Ireland and the Electricity Supply Board (ESB), pulled out of the tender in January 2018 and September 2017, respectively.
The remaining team is led by Irish telecoms provider Enet, and includes Granahan McCourt, John Laing plc and the Irish Infrastructure Fund. The team is bidding to design, finance, develop, construct, operate, maintain and exploit a high-speed broadband network covering 750,000 premises in rural Ireland. This will bring the number of Irish premises with high-speed broadband from 70 to 90%.
Both Enet and the Irish government have insisted that SSE's decision will not affect the tender process, with Enet claiming to be "just weeks away from submitting [the] final tender". However, many have expressed certainty that the withdrawal will delay the NBP, with some doubting that a contract will be signed before 2020.
Country updates
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June 25, 2018
New construction contractor appointed for Irish schools PPP
Ireland's National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) has announced that Woodvale has been appointed as the replacement works contractor for the Schools Bundle 5 PPP Project. The project...
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May 09, 2018
Tender re-launched for US$120 million hotel PPP at Dublin Airport
The operator of Dublin Airport, daa, has published a concession notice for the design, financing, construction and operation of a new hotel to be linked to the airport's Terminal 2. The...
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April 16, 2018
BBGI SICAV has announced the completion of the acquisition, which brings its ownership of the East Down Colleges project to 100% equity
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April 02, 2018
Macquarie closes university campus PPP in Dublin
Macquarie Capital has announced the financial close of Dublin Institute of Technology’s (DIT) EUR220 million (US$271 million) Grangegorman Campus project – one of Ireland’s...
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March 23, 2018
Transport Infrastructure Ireland has admitted to the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee that the State has paid DirectRoute Limerick EUR34 million (US$40.1 million) under the terms of the PPP contract to compensate for lower-than-expected traffic
Transport Infrastructure Ireland has admitted to the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee that the State has paid DirectRoute Limerick EUR34 million (US$40.1 million) under the terms of the PPP contract to compensate for lower-than-expected traffic. Conservative estimates project further traffic payments of about EUR150 million over the remainder of the contract, bringing the total projected State expenditure to about EUR200 million
