Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn TD, has approved a major works contract at the Grangegorman site.

The contract, valued at almost €23m, has been awarded to Limerick-based Roadbridge Limited.

The works will begin immediately and are central to the preparation of the Grangegorman site for the planned re-location and consolidation of the Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) at Grangegorman.

The main phase of development at Grangegorman, to be delivered through the public private partnership (PPP) process, is scheduled to begin in 2015 with a target completion date of 2017.

-- Advertisement --

Minister Quinn said: "The announcement demonstrates this Government's determination to ensure that the consolidation of the country's largest higher education institution proceeds as speedily as possible. Placing the contract is also reflective of the continuing progress in delivering a key element of this Government's €1.4 billion Economic Stimulus Plan."

Minister Quinn welcomed the publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) of the formal invitation to the market to tender for the project last week.

When completed, this phase of the development of the DIT campus will accommodate approximately 11,000 students and staff. This will derive significant efficiencies for a key third-level institution, which constitutes some 10% of all third-level education places in Ireland.

(CD/JP)