The construction of the €550 million Gort-to-Tuam motorway in Co Galway, has been given final clearance by Government.
The National Roads Authority confirmed yesterday to the Irish Times that it had been told to proceed with the 57km public-private partnership after the Government approved its share of funding for the project on Tuesday.
The project was suspended in light of the recession, but the NRA will now re-engage with the Direct Route consortium to move forward with the project, construction is expected to start by the end of the year.
Minister of State and Galway East TD Ciaran Cannon says there has been a commitment of 20 million euro from the Department of Public Expenditure as an initial deposit to get negotiations underway.
Speaking on Galway Talks, Minister Cannon says the Public Private Partnership (PPP) project will be a key piece of infrastructure for the West of Ireland and will create hundreds of construction jobs.
Director of Services at Galway County Council Frank Gilmore has welcomed the public commitment but says he’ll be seeking further talks with the NRA and the Department of Transport.
