Ireland and the world must do megaprojects better

Applying the metrics of economic geographer Prof Bent Flyvbjerg, Ireland is far from being a standout failure on megaprojects.

This may comfort those in the Government and State agencies seeking to scale up critical infrastructure as well as private-sector developers and investors hoping to deliver as planned within reasonable time frames.

We live in the age of the megaproject and it is probably the most important and demanding instance where the public and private sectors must collaborate – and know profoundly their respective roles. But Flyvbjerg’s research shows the combination rarely delivers as required...