Northern Ireland

None of Stormont Executive's seven key capital projects 'on time or budget'

The upgrade of the A5 Derry-Dublin road upgrade has been stalled at the planning stage
The upgrade of the A5 Derry-Dublin road upgrade has been stalled at the planning stage The upgrade of the A5 Derry-Dublin road upgrade has been stalled at the planning stage

NONE of the last Stormont Executive’s seven 'flagship projects', including the A5 and the Mother and Children’s Hospital, have been delivered on time and within budget, an audit report has found.

Auditor General Kieran Donnelly has called for a "change of approach" after finding problems with all seven infrastructure projects identified by the power-sharing government in 2015 as their highest priorities.

They are: the A5 Derry to Aughnacloy road; the A6 Belfast-Dublin road; the Mother and Children’s Hospital in Belfast; Belfast Transport Hub; Belfast Rapid Transit; stadium projects including Casement Park in west Belfast; and the Fire Service learning and development centre at Desertcreat, near Cookstown in Co Tyrone.

The Audit Office said the various government departments involved attributed time and budget delays to common issues including funding constraints, legal challenges, planning issues, and a lack of interest from the construction industry.

The office looked at a total of 11 capital projects, including the seven key projects.

Mr Donnelly said the problems of delivering complex large-scale projects "are not unique to Northern Ireland".

"That said, it is disappointing that, while some projects are delivered on time and within budget, many suffer significant cost overruns and time delays." he said.

"Even flagship projects identified as the Northern Ireland Executive’s highest priority, and with funding secured over a longer period, have not met their original delivery targets."

Mr Donnelly said "cumbersome governance and delivery structures" in the north's public sector may mean that projects are not providing value for money.

"I believe there is merit in considering alternative models, sufficiently resourced with specialist staff, to help improve future delivery," he said.