- Initial works to begin immediately on 3.1km North Runway
- Construction due to be completed in early 2021
- The contract includes building 306,000sq m of new runway and taxiways, and 6km of new internal airport roads
The DAA has awarded the main construction contract for Dublin Airport’s new North Runway to a joint venture involving Irish firm Roadbridge and Spanish infrastructure company FCC Construcción.
The contract is for the design and construction of the new 3.1km runway. Mobilisation and preparatory site works will begin immediately, and groundworks will start in January. Construction of the new runway is due to be completed in early 2021.
The contract includes building 306,000sq m of new runway and taxiways, and 6km of new internal airport roads, as well as installing new drainage and pollution controls, 7.5km of electrical cable, and more than 2,000 new runway and taxiway lights.
The DAA said it will “separately seek to have the two onerous conditions attached to the project amended. These conditions would limit flights at the airport’s busiest time of the day, which is between 6am and 7am, and also at night. Legislation is currently being drafted for an independent noise regulator at Dublin Airport, and DAA will make its case in relation to the conditions via this new process.”
Roadbridge Managing Director Connor Gilligan, DAA Chief Executive Dalton Philips and FCC Construcción Britain and Ireland Director Miguel Ángel Mayor at North Runway contract signing at Dublin Airport.
The DAA said the runway will be built at no cost to the State – as the company is not funded by the taxpayer. It said the runway would support the creation of 31,200 new Irish jobs and €2.2bn in additional economic activity by 2043.
DAA Chief Executive Dalton Philips said: “North Runway is an essential project for Ireland, as it will position the country for future economic growth for many decades to come. North Runway isn’t Dublin’s new runway; it is Ireland’s new runway and it will boost the performance of Irish tourism, trade and foreign direct investment in a post-Brexit world.”
Managing Director Conor Gilligan of Limerick-based Roadbridge said: “We are thrilled to be involved with such a prestigious and vital national project.” Roadbridge’s major Irish projects include: Centre Parcs Longford, DIT Grangegorman Campus and the Limerick Tunnel and Southern Ring Road.
FCC Construcción’s Britain and Ireland Director Miguel Ángel Mayor said: “We have been operating successfully in Ireland for many years and also have significant experience of runway construction both in Europe and South America, having built more than 4.5 million sq m of airport runways.”
FCC has experience in the design and construction of airport infrastructure such as the T-1 Passenger Terminal at El Prat Airport in Barcelona, the third runway and the new T4 terminal at the Madrid Barajas International Airport and is part of the international consortium for the design and construction of the new Mexico City International Airport, which is the second largest airport in the world under construction.
Roadbridge FCC will be working closely with Fingal-based development company Empower and the DAA to fill as many positions as possible from within the local community.
The new runway will be located about 1.6km north of Dublin Airport’s current main runway and will be entirely built on land owned by the airport. Developing a new runway at Dublin Airport is a key part of the Government’s National Aviation Policy, as it will allow the airport to develop its hub business and enable airlines to offer connectivity to more destinations.
North Runway at Dublin Airport
Dublin Airport’s existing runway system is effectively full at peak times and North Runway is also needed to reduce delays and congestion and to allow for future growth at Ireland’s key international gateway, the DAA said.
Construction started on the North Runway in late December 2016 and the initial package of works supported about 100 construction jobs. Roadbridge also won the contract for this initial phase of North Runway works, which included site clearance, road and services diversions and a series of archaeological and other surveys.
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