Minister for Transport says "value for money always to the forefront" for North Quays
L-R: Minister for Transport Darragh O'Brien, Minister for Local Government and Planning John Cummins, Minster for Mental Health Mary Butler walk across the North Quays' sustainable transport bridge. Photo: Patrick Browne
Minister for Transport Darragh O’Brien said the Waterford North Quays infrastructure project has been delivered in “a timely manner with value for money always to the forefront.”
Minister O’Brien visited the North Quays as part of a visit that also saw meetings with pharmaceutical multinational Sanofi.
He was accompanied by his Waterford Government colleagues Minister for Mental Health Mary Butler TD and Minister for Local Government and Planning John Cummins TD.
Minister O’Brien was asked by the whether he retained faith in the project’s efficiency, amid controversy over BAM’s (the North Quays developers) delivery of the National Children’s Hospital.
“We had a very detailed briefing with the chief executive and his team, along with Minister Butler and Minister Cummins this morning, where we went through the project itself, the progress that's been made, and it's being delivered in a very efficient and effective way,” Minister O’Brien said.
“I have to commend the local authority for the manner in which they've been managing this project too, and indeed with the contractors.”
Dutch-construction company BAM won the Government contract to develop the North Quays in 2022. The development will include a sustainable transport bridge and a reimagined transport hub.
BAM previously estimated that work on the project would be completed by 2025. The project, which is largely funded by the central government, was initially projected to cost €170 million.
Latest estimates have put the cost at €234 million. In Waterford City and County Council’s 2024 audit, consultancy fees for the project had risen to €24 million.
BAM is simultaneously developing the National Children’s Hospital, a project that has cost the state €2.2 billion and faced significant delays in its completion.
The board of the Children’s Hospital is currently defending against €880 million in claims from BAM.
“[The North Quays] is good for Waterford. It's good for the region, and it'll be a catalyst for further investment,” Minister O’Brien said.
“With the residential development that's going to happen, along with commercial development along the Quays here, it's going to transform this area.”
“To see the amount of work that has been done is absolutely fantastic, and we will continue to do more,” said Minister Butler.
“It's very fitting, I think, that we're here on the Ferrybank side, because a huge amount of work, a huge amount of disruption has happened for the people living here, and now they will benefit greatly from it when its finished.”
Minister Cummins said the Department of Housing was working with Waterford council to “activate” Harcourt Development's 350-unit apartment complex slated for the North Quays.
