Republican News · Thursday 16 January 2002

Profits for privatised Tube

BY ROBBIE MacGABHANN

High profits, undeclared bosses wages and double the average return on equity investment - Welcome to the world of public private partnership. This week it's the turn of the Tube Lines consortium made up of three companies - Jarvis, Bechtel and Amey.

In a media briefing last week, Tube Lines chief executive Terry Morgan, while refusing to discuss his own wage package, did confirm that Tube Lines expects to make £150 million in the first seven and a half years of a 30-year contract to run London's tube transport network. This is considerably higher than the average return for running public services and double that earned by London's recently privatised water companies.

Tube Lines will replace 42 miles of track, and refurbish 97 tube stations during this first seven years.

In December, An Phoblacht reported on Jarvis who are building five schools under public private schemes in the 26 Counties. In Britain, the roof blew off one Jarvis built school, while the head teachers in 20 other Jarvis-run schools have had serious grievances on how their schools are maintained.

The other Tube Lines consortium members also have interesting records, including Bechtel, which has been involved in some of the world's largest construction projects as well as running nuclear and defence test sites in Nevada, building waste incinerators and refurbishing nuclear power station.

Bechtel is also apparently named along with 24 other US companies as having provided aid and expertise to Iraq. The details are, according to Idaho Indymedia, in the 12,000-page report given by the Iraqi government on its biological, chemical and nuclear technology programs to the UN arms inspectors.

The question is, if these companies can make money running public services, why can't the governments here and in Britain do it too?