Traditional or public-private partnerships for procurement of light rail transit

Abstract

Over the past number of years infrastructural development has been a major concern in Ireland. The economic upturn of the country has required significant developments in this area in order to maintain the financial position the country now finds itself in. The Irish Government has acknowledged that the lack of infrastructure, particularly public transport, is creating a serious congestion problem. At an urban level, two lines of a Light Rail Transit (LRT) System have been introduced into Dublin this year. They were funded from the European Union (EU) and government funds. An extension of one of the LRT lines is currently at procurement stage and the paper uses the Tsamboulos method to assess if it is likely to be attractive to private finance. It was found that investors are likely to be very averse to planning risk but are less worried about financial and construction risks.