Only two firms, both Irish, have expressed an interest in tendering for the construction of Dublin's South Eastern Motorway despite the process being advertised on a pan-European basis.
The South Eastern Motorway, an 11 km stretch of Dublin's C-Ring motorway linking the Southern Cross Motorway at Ballinteer to the M11 motorway at Shankill, was estimated to cost £133 million at 1998 prices.
However, despite Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council advertising the contract in the European Journal, as is required for all public contracts in the EU, not a single expression of interest was received from firms outside the Republic.
The lack of interest carries implications for the delivery of the completed Dublin C-Ring Motorway by 2003 and also for the delivery of the National Development Plan spending of more than £6.3 billion on road infrastructure.
In an interview in this newspaper this week, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, predicted a major shake-up for Irish firms as foreign companies vied with them to secure the infrastructural contracts available under the National Development Plan.
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is to re-advertise the tendering process in the European Journal in the hope it may generate interest the second time around.
According to the Fine Gael spokeswoman on traffic, Ms Olivia Mitchell, who is also a member of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, the lack of interest will almost certainly delay the opening of the motorway.
Describing the current state of the construction industry in the Republic as "over-stretched, facing escalating costs and labour shortages" Ms Mitchell said the stark reality was that "there are simply too few firms with the capacity to do the work".
A delay in the construction of the motorway would also have serious implications for the cost of the project.
"In the 20 months to the end of this year, labour costs in the construction industry are expected to increase by the order of 42 per cent," she said. The news that the motorway failed to attract interest from foreign companies came as the Small Firms Association (SFA) said progress on infrastructure was now "imperative" to keep inflation in check.
The SFA director, Mr Pat Delaney, criticised what he said was an eight-year delay in the construction of the Dublin Port Tunnel and delays with DART extensions and Luas.
He warned that any further delays with infrastructural projects would impact adversely on the economy with potentially severe consequences.
