A businessman who co-owns a critical land bank at Dublin Airport has said he will sell it to an international investment fund after the daa made a “derisory” offer to purchase it.
Ulick McEvaddy, one of the co-owners of the land, has also pledged to go to court to ensure that a private terminal can be built there in the future.
The 261 acres of land, situated between the North and South runways, was put up for sale in May.
Mr McEvaddy told RTÉ’s This Week programme that there are five remaining bidders for the land, after the owners turned down an offer of around €75m from the daa.
He said the land is worth more than €205m, and the offers received from other bidders so far have been in excess of this amount.
He said there has been “substantial interest from around the world, particularly from venture capital funds, from pension funds and from people who see the value of this strategic land bank.”
He said the owners of the land rejected daa’s offer as “derisory”.
“They paid €1.7m an acre for a car park which is not strategic for the future of Dublin Airport, these lands are vital for the future expansion of Dublin Airport.”
He said he does not expect daa to make another offer, and believes he will be dealing with another party instead.
The parcel of land is seen as a critical national asset and is zoned for airport use.
Mr McEvaddy said in 2019 that daa’s submission to the Commission for Aviation Regulation included plans to build airport facilities on the lands.
He said if a private investment fund was to buy the site, it could either sell it on to daa or could build a private terminal on it.
He added that some of the potential buyers want Mr McEvaddy to proceed with a case under EU law to gain access to the runways at Dublin Airport in order to facilitate the building of a private terminal on the lands.
He said he would be prepared to take such a case on behalf of the new owners.
“It’s not our desired route, our desired route was that the daa would own these lands, and would have the vision necessary to do what is right for Dublin Airport”
However he said is prepared to go to court if the daa is no longer involved in the land sale.
Mr McEvaddy rejected suggestions that he was holding the land as a ransom against the daa.
He claimed he had offered the daa the exclusive rights to purchase the land and to enter binding arbitration on a price, but that this offer was rejected.
“We would like them to have the land if they have the vision, but if not, somebody else will grab it, and they will regret it” he said.
