A consortium of Irish company Roadbridge and Spanish group FCC has been confirmed as the main contractor for the construction of a new runway at Dublin Airport.

The Irish Independent revealed last month that the consortium was the preferred bidder.

The contract includes the construction of the new runway itself, as well as associated taxiways and is part of a wider €320m infrastructure project there.

Construction of the 3.1km runway is set to start by the end of the year. It is due to open in 2021.

The contract award was confirmed by DAA, which operates the airports in Dublin and Cork, and welcomed by Transport Minister Shane Ross.

“The airport experienced its seventh consecutive year of growth last year, welcoming close to 30 million passengers, and the importance of ensuring that we have adequate capacity at our biggest airport to drive national economic growth cannot be overstated,” he said.

Construction of the North Runway is due to be completed in early 2021. Preliminary works, included site clearance, road and services diversions and a series of archaeological surveys commenced in late December 2016.

Limerick-based Roadbridge is a family- owned civil engineering firm and has already been involved in preparation works for the runway. Spain’s FCC helped build a €40m fuel farm at Dublin Airport that opened this year.

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