National Development Finance Agency
The NDFA provides financial advisory, procurement and project delivery services to State authorities on public infrastructure projects.
Delivering PPPs
€1.5bn
CAPITAL VALUE
The NDFA, in partnership with its client Departments and agencies is supporting delivery of education, health, justice and housing PPP projects with an estimated total capital value of €1.5bn.
Providing Financial Advice
€5.5bn
CAPITAL VALUE
The NDFA is providing financial advice on infrastructural projects, including PPPs, with an estimated total capital value of €5.5bn.
The NTMA is designated as the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) when providing financial advice to State authorities undertaking major public investment projects with a capital value of more than €20m and when procuring and delivering Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects in sectors other than transport and the local authorities.
DELIVERY OF PPP PROJECTS
The procurement and delivery of approved PPP projects was a key focus of the NDFA’s activity in 2017. The NDFA, in partnership with its client Departments and agencies, is responsible for delivery of education, health, justice and housing PPP projects with an estimated total capital value of €1.5bn. The NDFA acts as financial advisor across the entire PPP programme.
With regard to PPPs in respect of which the NDFA is responsible for delivery, four were at or near construction stage and one at market stage at end-2017. Four of the 14 healthcare centres under the Primary Care Centres PPP were completed during 2017 with the remainder scheduled to be completed in mid-2018. The Courts PPP, which involves the development of new courthouses and the refurbishment and extension of existing courthouses in seven locations, saw three sites completed in 2017 with the remainder scheduled to be completed by Q3 2018.
Completion of construction on Schools PPP Bundle 5, providing 4,870 student places across four sites, was delayed following the liquidation of Carillion plc in January 2018. The PPP Company and the project funders are currently working through a rectification plan to complete the project as expediently as possible.
Work recommenced on the Dublin Institute of Technology Grangegorman PPP during 2017, following the judgment in favour of the Minister for Education and Skills and the NTMA in October 2016 in a case by an unsuccessful tenderer. Financial close was reached in March 2018, with the project planned to become operational in 2020.
The tender competition for Social Housing PPP Bundle 1, to construct 534 housing units in the Greater Dublin area, commenced in Q4 2017 and work is ongoing to prepare Bundles 2 and 3 to go to market. The full programme envisages some 1,500 housing units across the country.
The NDFA continued to advise Transport Infrastructure Ireland in relation to its roads PPP programme. The N17/N18 Gort to Tuam PPP scheme, the largest in the current roads PPP programme, opened in September 2017 ahead of schedule.
The NDFA also provided advice to Dublin City Council in relation to the Dublin Waste to Energy PPP project at Poolbeg, Dublin, which became operational during 2017. The project was also successfully refinanced in 2017, realising over €8m in savings to the State.
In terms of new projects, the NDFA collaborated closely with the Courts Service, the Health Service Executive and the Department of Education and Skills in the development of the next tranche of projects which includes Supreme and family law courts, community nursing units, and third level institutions.
NDFA Project Locations
PROGRESS ON NDFA PPP PROJECTS AT END-2017
| Project | Description | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Projects being Procured by the NDFA | |||
|
Primary Care Centres PPP | The development of 14 new primary care centres throughout the country, designed to provide health and social care services in local communities. | Four facilities became operational in 2017 (Boyle, Ballinrobe, Tuam and Limerick City). The remainder are scheduled for completion in mid-2018. |
|
Courts Bundle PPP | The development of new courthouse buildings in Drogheda, Letterkenny, Limerick and Wexford and also the refurbishment and extension works to existing courthouses in Cork, Mullingar and Waterford. | Three courthouses became operational in 2017 (Drogheda, Letterkenny and Wexford). The remaining four are scheduled for completion by Q3 2018. |
|
Schools PPP Bundle 5 | Five schools and one Institute of Further Education providing 4,870 places in Carlow, Meath, Wicklow and Wexford. | Completion delayed following liquidation of a member of the PPP Company (Carillion plc) in January 2018. The PPP Company and the project funders are currently working through a rectification plan to complete the project as expediently as possible. |
|
DIT Campus at Grangegorman PPP | The development of two quad buildings at the new DIT Campus in Grangegorman, providing 10,000 student places in applied arts, sciences and engineering. | Contract award and financial close was completed in March 2018. Following a two-year construction period, the buildings are expected to become operational in 2020. |
|
Social Housing PPP | Development of 1,500 social housing units in three bundles. | Bundle 1 tender competition commenced in 2017 with Bundle 2 to reach market stage in early 2018. |
| Projects where the NDFA is Financial Advisor | |||
|
Motorway Service Areas | Design, construction, operation and maintenance of two service areas located on the M6 motorway east of Athlone and on the M9 motorway south of Kilcullen together with the fit-out, operation and maintenance of a third service area on the M11 motorway north of Gorey. | Expected to reach financial close in 2018. |
|
N17/N18 PPP | Design, construction, operation and maintenance of a new 57km stretch of motorway in Galway. | The completed road scheme was officially opened in September 2017. |
|
M11 PPP (Gorey to Enniscorthy) | Design, construction, operation and maintenance of a new 38km stretch of motorway in Wexford. | Construction underway, scheduled for completion in 2019. |
|
N25 PPP | Design, construction, operation and maintenance of the New Ross bypass. | Construction underway, scheduled for completion in 2019. |
|
Charlemont Street Housing Regeneration PPP | Land Swap PPP involving the delivery of 79 social housing units and community facilities in Dublin. | Construction underway, scheduled for completion in 2018. |
|
Dublin Waste to Energy PPP | Design, construction, operation and maintenance of a 600,000 tonne waste to energy plant. | Project became operational in 2017 and was refinanced in December 2017. |
PROVISION OF FINANCIAL ADVICE
Under its statutory mandate, the NDFA provides financial advice to State authorities undertaking major public investment projects. During 2017, the NDFA provided advice in relation to a number of housing projects including social housing lease and mortgage to rent schemes. It also provided financial advisory services to local authorities in respect of the use of their land banks to accelerate delivery of social, affordable and private housing in line with Government policy.
Other projects on which the NDFA provided financial advice in 2017 included the Forensic Science Laboratory, the Secure Managed Digital Radio Network Services, the National Forensic Mental Health Services Hospital and the Cork Radiation Oncology Unit.
The NDFA also engaged with the European Investment Bank (EIB) on the provision of a direct loan to the Exchequer, which was finalised in December 2017, of €490m for the new Children’s Hospital project. This represents the EIB’s largest ever financial engagement in Ireland and the largest single healthcare investment in its history.
CONTRACT MANAGEMENT SERVICES
At the request of the Department of Education and Skills, the NDFA has taken over the contract management of all operational PPP schools. At end-2017 the NDFA was managing the contracts for five schools projects covering 27 schools. Working under a Service Level Agreement, the support provided involves monitoring the relevant PPP companies in the performance of their obligations under the PPP contract, ensuring that the long-term value in these contracts is captured. The NDFA also provides contract management services for the Convention Centre, Dublin.