Programme Status Breakdown
Delay Distribution — Top 12 Schemes (Weeks)
Announced vs. Current Cost — All Schemes (£m)
Cost Escalation Forecast to 2032 — Active Schemes
A5 Western Transport Corridor — 18 Years and Counting
Announced in 2007 at £800m for a dual carriageway between the border at Aughnacloy and Londonderry. The project is now estimated at £1.6bn — a 100% cost overrun — with completion pushed back to 2035 or beyond. Legal challenges and repeated planning resets have added 885 weeks of delay. The A5 has consumed hundreds of millions in design, compensation and legal costs without a single carriageway being dualled end-to-end.
Casement Park Stadium — A Political Football
Announced in 2012 at £62m, the GAA redevelopment of Casement Park in West Belfast was originally planned for completion before Euro 2028. Cost has ballooned to £180m — a 190% overrun — with a revised target of 2026 still in doubt. Planning approvals, neighbourhood objections and political wrangling have generated 416 weeks of delay. It remains a live test of whether Stormont can deliver even a high-profile sporting venue.
York Street Interchange — Belfast's Unfinished Knot
The grade-separation of Belfast's most congested junction was announced in 2015 at £165m and targeted for 2023. Cost has doubled to £330m with completion now expected no earlier than 2028. The scheme has faced land assembly difficulties, utility diversions and a ballooning DfI budget. Without York Street, the entire Belfast transport strategy — including rapid transit and cross-harbour movement — cannot function as planned.
North South Interconnector — A Decade of Controversy
A new high-voltage electricity line from Tyrone to Cavan was announced in 2012 at £200m and targeted for 2019. Planning refusals, appeals and political opposition — particularly from rural communities over overhead pylons — have pushed the revised date to 2028 at an estimated £250m. The interconnector is critical for NI's energy security and renewable integration. SONI and EirGrid regard it as the single most important cross-border infrastructure project on the island.
Enniskillen Hospital — Western Trust Left Waiting
The replacement of the South West Acute Hospital in Enniskillen was announced in 2016 at £200m, with a target of 2023. By 2026, the cost estimate has risen to £280m with a revised target of 2027 — a 208-week delay. The Western Health & Social Care Trust continues to operate from ageing facilities condemned by several independent reviews. A Phase 2 (SWAH) project has now been announced separately at an estimated £420m, meaning the total health capital requirement for the Fermanagh/Tyrone area has more than trebled from original projections.
Strangford Lough Crossing — The Test Case
The Strangford Lough Crossing has been mandated by both Ards & North Down Borough Council and Newry, Mourne & Down District Council. A DfI feasibility and business case study of £5m was announced in 2024. This tracker follows the SLC as the canary in the coalmine for NI infrastructure delivery reform. A crossing connecting Strangford and Portaferry would open up significant economic, social and tourism connectivity for southeast Ulster — and its treatment by Stormont will be a litmus test for political will.
| Scheme | Status | Announced | Current Est. | Variance | Delay | Detail |
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Methodology & Sources
CPD Index (0–100): Higher score = worse delivery performance (0 = perfect, 100 = total failure). CPD-C (Cost Performance) measures the proportion of schemes with confirmed cost overruns, with a severity penalty for overruns greater than 25%. CPD-D (Delivery Performance) measures the proportion of schemes with significant delay or stasis, with a minor penalty for smaller slippages. The combined CPD score is the unweighted average.
Clock: The live clock shows the cumulative active cost overrun on schemes with confirmed cost increases, compounding at a blended BCIS inflation rate of 3.5% per annum from the epoch date of 05 May 2026. This represents the real cost of delay to Northern Ireland taxpayers. Completed and cancelled schemes are excluded from the clock base.
Cost data: Announced costs are taken from original NI Executive press releases, DfI programme documentation, Assembly committee evidence, and ministerial statements. Current estimated costs are drawn from DfI capital programme updates, NI Audit Office reports, BBC NI, The Detail NI, and FOI disclosures.
Delay data: Weeks of delay calculated from original target completion date versus revised target or today's date where no revised target exists. Where no completion date was ever formally set, delay is classified as TBC.
Primary sources: Department for Infrastructure NI · NI Audit Office · BBC Northern Ireland · The Detail NI · Central Procurement Directorate (CPD)
Disclaimer: This tracker is an independent professional assessment prepared by QuintinQS for the Strangford Lough Crossing campaign and broader infrastructure accountability purposes. It is not affiliated with the Northern Ireland Executive or any government department. All figures are drawn from publicly available sources and are correct as of the date shown. Cost projections are indicative only.
CPD — about this acronym: CPD stands for Continued Prolonged Delays — a deliberate reference to Northern Ireland's own Central Procurement Directorate, rebranded as Construction, Procurement, Delivery — the NI Executive body whose mandate is to ensure public infrastructure is delivered on time and on budget. The name is intentional. The question this tracker asks is simple: is CPD delivering on its own mandate?
Strangford Lough Crossing: This tracker is maintained as part of the campaign for the Strangford Lough Crossing feasibility study. More information: ktbcpdni.netlify.app | British Isles Hub