Joint venture between Sisk and Lagan among likely bidders for €200m Dublin Airport tunnel

A joint venture between construction groups Sisk and Lagan is understood to be among the potential bidders for a €200m tender to construct a major new service tunnel at Dublin Airport.

The two firms have already worked together on projects at the airport.

However, An Bord Pleanála still has to make a decision on whether construction of the tunnel can proceed after Ryanair appealed against planning permission for the infrastructure early last year.

The project – which includes a 700m tunnel as part of a 1.1km link – is being built to improve the safety and efficiency of the airfield.

But Ryanair objected to the project and claimed it was a waste of money.

However, the DAA has insisted the tunnel forms a vital part of its €2bn capital investment programme.

The tunnel was first proposed a number of years ago by the DAA, the semi-state company that controls Dublin and Cork airports. It had originally intended that the tunnel would be operational by 2024. However, the Covid pandemic began soon after the plans were first detailed.

While Fingal County Council granted planning permission early last year, that was appealed by Ryanair.

An Bord Pleanála has a statutory duty to make a decision within 18 months, but then said it would make a decision by October last year. But because of a major backlog of cases at the planning watchdog, a ruling has not yet been made.

The project will involve the construction of a tunnel with two lanes under Dublin Airport’s 16/34 runway. That is a secondary runway at the airport and is used when crosswinds affect flights on its main runways.

When Dublin Airport’s new runway opened in 2022, it meant that surface transit for vehicles between its eastern and western campuses across runway 16/34 was no longer considered viable by the DAA.

The Irish Aviation Authority also advised the DAA that such surface transit across the 16/34 was no longer sustainable from a safety standpoint.

The tunnel will enable as many as 3,500 trips every day by airport vehicles, which will shuttle between Terminal One and new aircraft stands that are planned at the airport. It will be used by vehicles such as cargo transporters, fuel trucks and catering trucks.

The tunnel project will include the demolition of almost 24,000 sqm (258,000 sqft) of existing pavement surfaces at locations including taxiways and the 16/34 runway. Just over 16,000 sqm of those paved surfaces will be reinstated.

Get ahead of the day with the morning headlines at 7.30am and Fionnán Sheahan’s exclusive take on the day’s news every afternoon, with our free daily newsletter.