The Strategic Investment Board (SIB), the body set up by the Government to address Northern Ireland’s serious infrastructure deficit, is intent on transforming the manner in which public-private partnership (PPP) schemes are delivered in Northern Ireland.
One of the first projects to be sponsored by the SIB is set to close this summer – the Invest Northern Ireland HQ Accommodation Project (the M1 Westlink Roads Project) is now at bid stage – with another to follow. Two major schemes in the water and waste water sector are in the pipeline, and last week it launched, along with the Belfast Education & Library Board, a new partnering PPP scheme for Belfast’s schools with a capital value of up to £500m. With these and numerous other significant schemes already underway, it is not a bad time to be a local contractor.
