Brian Cowen, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) of Ireland, today inaugurated the 56-kilometre N6 toll road, between Galway and Ballinasloe, which was built by Sacyr Vallehermoso and FCC at a cost of 288 million euro.
The road, which is a key component of Ireland's National Development Plan, is one of the country's largest civil engineering projects and will be managed for 36 years by Sacyr Concesiones, the infrastructure subsidiary of the Sacyr Vallehermoso group, and Globalvía, a 50:50 joint venture of FCC and Caja Madrid.
The inauguration was attended by Manuel Manrique, CEO of Sacyr Vallehermoso, Juan Béjar, Chairman of GlobalVía, Avelino Acero, General Manager of FCC Construcción, and José Manuel Loureda, General Manager-International of Sacyr.
The contract signed in April 2007 between consortium that won the public tender for the project and the Irish National Roads Authority established a period of 33 months for construction. The project was finally completed in 30 months.
In addition to to the 56 kilometres of toll road, the project included seven kilometres of conventional roadway plus the following structures:
- 16 underpasses
- 23 overpasses
- 3 bridges over railways
- One pedestrian overpass
- Four double-roundabout junctions
- Two bridges over rivers
- A viaduct over the river Suck in Ballinasloe.
The project gave priority to preserving the landscape and protecting the environment. A total of 48 wildlife crossings were built.
The importance of environmental protection in Ireland is evidenced by the prohibition on construction work over streams and rivers between the months of October and April, when salmon swim upriver to spawn.
Dublin beltway
The consortium that built and will operate the N6 is also building the M50 ring road around Dublin, which it will then operate for 35 years.
This project includes 41 kilometres of main highway between the junction with the M1 on the north side and the junction with the N11 on the south side.
The road will have a free-flow tolling system. The concession company will receive an availability payment from the government as consideration for the investment and services.
Globalvía is the world's second-largest transport infrastructure operator, according to the annual ranking published by Public Works Financing (PWF) magazine. It has offices in Spain, Mexico, Ireland, Chile and the USA (Miami and New York). It has a portfolio of 41 projects, including: toll roads, railways, marinas, industrial ports and airports.
Sacyr Concesiones encompasses the Sacyr Vallehermoso group's infrastructure concessions; it has 29 assets in six countries (Spain, Portugal, Chile, Costa Rica, Italy and Ireland). It has a diversified business portfolio: 11 explicit toll roads and 8 shadow toll roads (totalling 1,410 km), 2 transport hubs, 5 hospitals, one airport, one underground railway line and one service area company.
