Westmeath County Council receive eight tenders for IDA advance building

Westmeath County Council has confirmed that eight responses have been received in response to a tender request seeking a design team for a major development at the IDA Business and Technology Park, Ardmore, Mullingar.

The successful team will be tasked with preparing the full design and securing planning permission for an Advance Building Solution (ABS), a move described as the first step in attracting further foreign direct investment (FDI) to the town.

Council officials say that having a “shovel-ready” site with planning permission in place makes Mullingar more competitive when it comes to winning international investment. Once approved, the ABS project will be actively promoted by the IDA to potential overseas clients.

In August of last year, IDA Ireland and Westmeath County Council signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaboratively deliver the project.

In December 2023, progress on the project received a setback as a result of a legal challenge by one of the firms that tendered for the contract to build the unit. An IDA spokesperson confirmed to the Westmeath Examiner at the time that an application for a judicial review regarding the tender process had been lodged with the high court.