Please click on the below link for updates and contacts details in relation to the Motorway Service Areas Projects underway on the M1 and M4 by the Superstop Consortium.

www.superstop.ie

The SuperStop Consortium (“SuperStop”) is pleased to confirm that it has been awarded the Public Private Partnership (PPP) contract to design, build, finance, maintain and operate the six Motorway Service Areas by the National Roads Authority (“NRA”).  The consortium is 100% Irish owned comprising Applegreen (Retail Operator); TOP Oil (Fuel Operator) and Pierse Contracting (Design & Construction). It is estimated that 500 jobs will be created during construction phase which begins this month and that around 250 full & part time jobs will be created when the six new service areas open. Bank of Ireland is the sole funder of the debt facilities for €70m.  Arthur Cox are the legal advisors to SuperStop for the project.

The 24 hour service areas will be located on the M1 at Castlebellingham, Co. Louth and Lusk, Co Dublin and on the M4 at Enfield, Co. Kildare.  Each of the six service areas will incorporate separate fuelling areas for cars and HGVs, a restaurant and deli, a shop, customer services, significant parking facilities, child play areas and picnic areas.

It is anticipated that these service areas will increase the attractiveness of the motorway network and will provide drivers and passengers with an opportunity to stop, in particular on long journeys, without leaving the motorway network as there will be easy access to the facilities.

Donal Murphy, Director, Global Project Finance, Bank of Ireland said: “Bank of Ireland is pleased to confirm our role as provider of the debt facilities for this exciting project. We look forward to continuing to work with SuperStop during the construction and operation of the Service Areas. This Motorway Service Areas PPP is another very positive development for the PPP market in Ireland and we remain fully committed to supporting current and future Irish infrastructure projects being promoted by Government Departments and State Agencies”.

PPP Schools Bundle 1

Sod Turning Ceremony

Banagher, 12^th March 2009

Speech by Nobby O’Reilly, CEO, Pierse Contracting

An Taoiseach, Minister Batt O’Keeffe, Councillors, ladies, gentlemen and students

The Pierse Group, together with our partners Macquarie, are delighted to have been selected as the successful bidder for Schools Bundle 1.  It has been a long process, commencing with our pre qualification submission in October 2006, followed by numerous other submissions, negotiations and discussions in the intervening period. 

In recent months our biggest challenge was to find a bank to fund these projects due to the extraordinary turbulence in the financial markets and, in particular, the funding of PPP projects.  We had meetings with numerous international and national banks before we eventually secured funding with Bank of Ireland.  I would like to especially thank Tom Hayes, Adrian Olsen and Donal Murphy from Bank of Ireland for the efforts that they put into successfully funding this project.

I would also like to thank Michael Kennedy from Allianz for providing the performance bond; the main stakeholders, being the National Development Finance Agency, in particular Brian Murphy, Stephen Burgess and Conor Gunn; the Department of Education and Science for working so effectively with us throughout the whole process; our colleagues Mark Bradshaw and his team in Macquarie and also the professional teams:

Banagher

Architects – A&D Wejchert (Paddy Fletcher)

Engineers – White Young Green (Denis Blake)

Ferbane

Architects – Henry J. Lyons (Sam Lyons)

Engineers – White Young Green (Denis Blake)

Portlaoise (two schools)

Architects – A&D Wejchert (Paddy Fletcher) and Henry J. Lyons (Sam Lyons)

Engineers – White Young Green (Denis Blake)

The challenge has now been handed down directly to the Pierse Group contracting team to deliver these projects over the next 18 months. 

Our Project Management Team of Ronan Ryan, Liam Roche and Vance McGlinchey will continue on the projects and work with our site teams:

Project	Contract Manager	Duration	Construction Value
Banagher	Kieran Gibbons	18 months	€15 million
Ferbane	Fiachra O Muineachain	18 months	€13 million
Portlaoise	Martin Stewart	17 months	€32 million
			€60 million

I have absolute confidence that our Construction Team led by Michael O’Reilly, together with our consultants, will deliver these projects to the highest standards that the Department of Education would expect and I look forward to working with all of those involved in achieving our targets in a non adversarial manner.

It is anticipated that approx. 700 direct and indirect jobs will be generated over the next 18 months, which is a welcome boost to the local economy.

Our industry is in the midst of a challenging time due to economic pressures both here in Ireland and overseas and if I could take a few moments of your time to make some comments in advance of the proposed budget.  As a member of the CIF Executive Council, I have participated in a number of recent internal reviews regarding the state of our industry within the CIF and I will comment as follows:

The proposed budget has to be a beginning not an end in terms of Government investment in infrastructure.

Whilst tax increases and spending cuts are inevitable, and necessary given the current budgetary arithmetic, any benefit from these will be quickly undone unless they are   accompanied by measures to promote economic activity and employment. 

In the short term, supporting a strong capital programme is the only way open to Government to safeguard jobs, generate increased government revenues and help to kick start economic recovery.

The emphasis has to be on labour intensity and the infrastructure that is most needed from a competitiveness point of view.  Education is clearly one such area and the building of this school here is an example of that.

The timing has never been better.  Government can take advantage of the convergence of an incredibly competitive tendering environment and the abundance of a highly skilled labour force.

For every €100m invested in infrastructure 1,000 direct jobs are created with an immediate return to the State of nearly €50m. through taxes and social welfare savings etc.

Job losses in construction happen away from the public glare.  The focus that accompanies the closure of major factories is simply not there.  In quantitative terms however, the scale of job losses in construction is the reason commentators are now predicting that over 500,000 people will be unemployed by the year’s end. 

We clearly need the infrastructure, whether it be roads, public transportation, water infrastructure, education, health, prisons, Garda stations and court houses.  We have a list of shovel ready projects, we should take advantage.

I would like to thank everybody, especially An Taoiseach, for attending.

Taoiseach turns sod on new school in Offaly as PPP projects go on site
‘Building work begins on first bundle of PPP projects creating 2,700 new school places’ - Minister O’Keeffe

The Taoiseach, Brian Cowen TD, today turned the sod on a new 550-student post-primary school in Banagher, Co Offaly, marking the start of the construction phase on the first bundle of four schools under the public-private partnership (PPP) model.

The Taoiseach was joined at the sod-turning ceremony by the Minister for Education and Science, Batt O’Keeffe TD.

Announcing the progression to site of the four schools, the Taoiseach said: ‘Today, we’re marking the start of building work on four new post-primary schools which will be delivered under the PPP model.

‘One of those schools is Banagher College-Coláiste na Síonna where a new school building will provide 550 student places arising from the amalgamation of La Sainte Union Secondary School and St Rynagh's Community College.

‘The three other schools in the first PPP bundle on which construction is now beginning are St  Mary’s CBS, Portlaoise (850 students); Scoil Chríost Rí, Portlaoise (850 students); and Gallen Community School, Ferbane, Co Offaly (450 students) arising from the amalgamation of Ferbane Vocational School and St Joseph’s and St Saran's Secondary School.

‘The National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) has signed the contract with Macquarie Partnerships for Ireland (MPFI) to build the four new schools which, together, will create 2,700 new school places.

‘These four schools make up the first bundle of PPP school projects to be delivered under the Department of Education and Science’s 2006-2010 PPP programme. 

‘Under the PPP model, the schools will be designed, built, financed and maintained for 25 years by MPFI.’

Minister O’Keeffe said he expected the four new schools to be completed by the middle of next year.

‘The two new schools in Portlaoise will share a campus but retain their separate identities, addressing present and future needs for post-primary students in a rapidly developing area.

‘Meanwhile, Ferbane and Banagher will get two new state-of-the-art post-primary schools.

‘Over €1.3 billion has been identified in the National Development Plan 2007-2013 for the provision of educational PPP projects and my Department and the NDFA have a number of other bundles going through the procurement process.

‘One of the main advantages PPP schools have is that the principal is not involved on a daily basis in maintenance and caretaking issues.

‘These become the responsibility of the PPP operator for the period of the contract.

‘I want to pay tribute to all those involved in bringing the project to this stage, particularly the management and principals of the schools.

‘I also want to acknowledge the work of my own Department's staff and the staff of the NDFA who’re responsible for the procurement and delivery of the four schools. 

‘I’ll continue to use the PPP model, as appropriate, to supplement the traditional programme of school construction.

‘Projects I’ve announced since the start of the year, excluding these PPP projects, will create over 20,000 new school places by investing a record €656 million in the school building programme,’ said Minister O’Keeffe.

In July of this year, Pierse were proud to have achieved an upgrade in our Integrated Quality, Safety and Environmental Management System to meet the revised requirements of the ISO9001:2008 and OHSAS 18001:2007; International Standards for Quality and Health and Safety. Accreditation was achieved following an audit from the NSAI and we wish to commend our In-House Quality, Health, Safety and Environmental Team along with our dedicated site staff in their continued high standard of conformity to the requirements of these standards and to the best practice standards set by Pierse Contracting.