Timelines and expected costs for several major Cork projects revealed 

TIMELINES for several major Cork projects in the realms of roads, public transport, health, housing, and higher education, with costs expected to top billions of euro, have been published by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform as part of preparations for the publication of Budget 2024 in two weeks.

The Prospects 2023-24 document shows that construction is expected to get underway on the M20 Cork to Limerick upgrade in 2027, with an expected completion date of 2031 and a price tag of over €1bn.

BusConnects Cork, currently at the strategic assessment and preliminary business case stage, is scheduled to get underway in 2025 and be completed by 2030.

The cost estimates for that are put in the €500m to €1bn range.

Another long-anticipated project, the Lower Lee Cork City Flood Relief Scheme, is still in the pre-tender stage and a detailed brief and procurement strategy are being prepared.

The construction is expected to begin on this project in 2025 and be complete by 2030 and the estimated cost has been put at €100m-€250m.

Another major Cork road project, the Cork to Ringaskiddy M28, has been scheduled to get underway in 2024 and its cost has been estimated between €250m and €500m.

It is also at the pre-tender stage with a detailed project brief and procurement strategy being worked on. Its completion date is expected to be 2028.

Work on the construction of thousands of homes and offices in the Cork city docklands is projected to begin in 2024, said the Department of Public Expenditure document.

This project should be complete by 2031 and the investment involved is expected to be between €500m and €1bn.

Higher education projects in the pipeline include Cork University Business School, to be located on the banks of the Lee between Copley Street and South Terrace.

This is expected to get underway next year with a completion date of 2026. The cost of this flagship project is expected to come in between €100m and €250m, according to the Department of Public Expenditure estimate contained in the Prospects 2023-24 report.

Another UCC-related project in the report is part of Higher Education Minister Simon Harris’ plan to upgrade Ireland’s universities.

The UCC Higher Education Strategic Investment Fund scheme is expected to get underway in 2025 and is projected to cost up to €100m.

The Prospects report also showed that funding of up to €1bn is being earmarked for three elective hospitals, one each in Cork, Galway, and Dublin.

A construction timeline of 2024-2027 has been slated for these hospital projects.

Cork’s Crawford Gallery is also being pencilled in for its upgrade during 2024-2026 and the expected investment there is between €20m and €50m.