Runaway Cost for Second Runway?
City Wide News 7 - 20 Feb 2007

The issue of a cost benefit analysis study on the development of a second runway at Dublin Airport has been raised once again this month, as Finance Minister Brian Cowen dictates that all projects in the new NDP costing over €30 million must be subjected to a full cost benefit analysis. The new National Development Plan 2007-2013 envisages spending €l.8 billion on infrastructure at Dublin, Cork and Shannon airports. At Dublin Airport this includes extending Terminal 1, a new Terminal 2 and
a new runway.

Finance Minister Brian Cowen says all projects in the new NDP costing over €30 million must be subjected to a full cost benefit analysis. However, according a major runway opposition group, this study should already have been done under existing Department of Finance guidelines for Dublin Airport's planned capital expenditure programme. The Dublin Airport Authority admitted at An Bord Pleanala last October that this analysis bad not been done. Further, alternatives to runway two should
also have been seriously evaluated, according to Portmarnock based UPROAR.

In fact, Portmarnock Community Association did its own cost benefit analysis, and according to that group, found that Dublin Airport's expansion plan will 'waste' €4.5 billion while an unsubsidised second airport, built on a greenfield site serving the Greater Dublin Area, would yield a real annual return of 7.4%, plus spin-off benefits like jobs where most needed.

A major factor in the groups economic evaluation is the value of public and private land in and around Dublin Airport. This land, to be consumed by the expansion plan, is worth about €2 million per acre, while thousands of hectares of low-value cutaway bogland are available within 50 km of Dublin City.

"This relative cost was ignored by the DAA, as were relative road congestion costs. The DAA intends to treble passenger numbers to 60 million per year, creating six times the IKEA car-load the NRA has objected to, bringing gridlock to the upgraded M1-M50 and blocking access to the airport itself, at huge economic cost," says Matt Harley of UPROAR.

"If the Government's commitment to "Value for Money" is not just pre-election spin, Dublin Airport's expansion plan will immediately be subjected to 'a full cost benefit analysis' and the 'robust and transparent appraisal, management and monitoring systems' the NDP promises," he says.

UPROAR, made up of residents living around the airport have also contended that current subsidies may be the key to Dublin's aviation future. Should the Competition Authority follow through on threats to remove the passenger subsidy at the existing airport, the case for a second airport becomes overwhelming, according to the group.

Currently Dublin Airport, at a heavily subsidised €6.34 per passenger, has the lowest passenger charge of all major airports in Europe, at less than 50% of the European average charge, according to DAA CEO Declan Collier. "What else is so cheap in Celtic Tiger Ireland?" Matt Harley queries.

If this Subsidy were removed, says Harley, as it might have to be under competition rules, the case for a second airport to be built on the thousands of hectares of state-owned cutaway bog within 50 km of Dublin would be over-whelming. "Dublin Airport would become a higher cost but more sustainable and efficient Dublin City Airport and could continue to be an "engine of growth" for the Fingal Area. Business in Fingal would thrive with reduced road congestion and Dublin Airport would be in a
better position to cater for a higher value-added business clientele while a second GDA airport would cater more for the higher volume, lower cost users. Travel time and congestion for users south of the Liffey as far as Wexford/Waterford would be reduced for a well-chosen site, say in the area of Newbridge," Harley outlines.