Eu750m cost over-run on leading Port Tunnel fiasco

Eu750m cost over-run on leaking Port Tunnel fiasco - Mitchell

The Port Tunnel is leaking more money than water with project costs coming in at more than Eu750 million over budget, according to Fine Gael Transport Spokeswoman Olivia Mitchell TD.

She said the project was the biggest disappointment since the Titanic, and described it as the best example yet of how the FF/PD Government cannot do its sums or deliver value for money for taxpayers.

“The cost of the Port Tunnel when the original contract was awarded was estimated at Eu550 million, including a construction cost of Eu448 million. But in the space of just five years the cost of the project has soared by 136% to an estimated Eu1.3 billion, an increase of Eu750 million.

“This means that a 5km long tunnel is coming in at an average of Eu260 million per km. The construction stage was supposed to take three and a half years, but four and a half years later there is still no end in sight. According to best estimates it will take at least another 12 months to finish. And to add insult to injury, it has now sprung a leak.

“A combination of Government ineptitude and an inability to do basic sums have seen this project turn into a modern-day Titanic. The Government started out with a bright idea, but little notion of what it really wanted. Variations in the contract requirements, poor preparations and an inadequate site investigation before the contract was signed, appear to be to blame.

“The Fianna Fail/PD Government has ignored repeated warnings about spiralling costs, missed deadlines and wasted money. And instead of coming clean about what was really going on, it has kept mum. Meanwhile, Transport Minister Martin Cullen seems to think the project has nothing to do with him. If he wants to pass the buck then Finance Minister Brian Cowen should start asking questions about how it all went so wrong. But the entire Cabinet is sitting on its hands while the Port Tunnel haemorrhages taxpayers’ money.

“Unfortunately, the Port Tunnel has come to symbolise the Government’s inability to do its sums. Fine Gael has revealed many other examples of contract mismanagement, but the Port Tunnel is the daddy of them all,” said Mitchell.