Gerard Cahillane, deputy director and head of operations and finance at the National Development Finance Agency, told delegates at Financing Irish Infrastructure that both the planning framework and the 10-year plan are now expected before the end of the first quarter of 2018.
He also pointed out that several existing procurements have been assured of going through the PPP process under the 10-year plan, meaning that PPP will clearly play some role in the initiative.
Opening the conference, morning chair Michele Connolly of KPMG said that private finance will play a role in infrastructure development across Ireland, explaining that there is now a “significant blurring of the lines between PPP and non-PPPP projects”, with investors and financiers using the same approaches across sectors to get things delivered.
A poll of delegates found that the majority are optimistic on future investment opportunities in Ireland over the next two years, although around a third remain unsure of the market’s potential.