10 Sep 2002

The Department for Employment and Learning has announced that Interserve and its consortium partner O'Hare & McGovern Ltd have been named as preferred bidder for the Tyrone Colleges Private Finance Initiative (PFI) project worth £60m in design, construction, finance and operation fees.

The project will consist of the creation and operation of two further education colleges in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland: East Tyrone College at Dungannon; and Omagh College. They will have a combined capacity of approximately 6,000 students. O'Hare & McGovern will carry out the design and construction, expected to begin in 2003, while Interserve will undertake the 25-year facilities management contract worth approximately £27m over its lifetime. It will also have an equity stake in the project.