Howard Holdings, the Dublin-based property development company, is on schedule to complete a £10 million multi-storey car park at Dublin's Beaumont Hospital by next May, two months ahead of schedule.

The 600-space park will cater mainly for visitors to the hospital. The car-park is being developed under a Public Private Enterprise (PPE) scheme, under which commercial companies join forces with public bodies to provide facilities that combines private investment with public land or facilities for mutual benefit.

No Government funds are involved and Howard plans to take the project from concept to completion with a seven-month period. Howard will be able to avail of 50 per cent capital allowances and will operate the car-park for 13 years before ownership reverts to the hospital.

The initial parking fee of £1 per hour will be index linked.

The company is in negotiations with the hospital to devise a joint strategy for managing 1,400 car-parking spaces on site.

It plans to use the latest US and German traffic management software, as well as a closed circuit TV system to optimise the usage of the available spaces.

The developers are to pay particular attention to security, which has become an important issue in many car-parks over the past decade.

The building will have no internal supports to ensure that there is no area within the car-park not covered by CCTV cameras. The lobby will be finished to hotel standards and there will be a PA system to alert users to any hold-ups and to direct them to the most convenient parking.

Frank Gorman, chairman of Howard Holdings, said the company won the contract in a very tough competition "against all the big names".

He said Howard was at the forefront in car-parking technology in Ireland and it was adapting the best international computer system for Beaumont. Parking at the hospital should be considerably eased once the new facility opens. Howard Holding has its headquarters in Dublin and is quoted on the London Stock Exchange. It is shortly to seek a Dublin listing.

Its corporate policy is to enter joint ventures with private and public bodies to optimise development opportunities. It has been involved in a large number of schemes and is currently building a business park in Balbriggan, Co Dublin.

It is also involved in a number of car-park/commercial schemes in Cork city, as well as apartment developments in London.