The announcement was made in Spain by Eurolink's chief stake-holder, Cintra Concesiones Infraestructuras, which owns 95% of the consortium.

The agreement is to design, construct, finance and operate the toll road, with Eurolink collecting from the toll road for 45 years.

The company noted that it will begin construction next month having been announced as the 'preferred tenderer' last September.

The M3 project is to include about 60km of motorway and 50km of access roads. It will cover around 700 hectares of land between Clonee and north of Kells, linking Dublin with the northwest.

The project generated controversy and was the subject of an unsuccessful High Court challenge because of its proximity to the historic Hill of Tara, a court case which delayed the start of construction.

Siac Ferrovial, the company which trades as Eurolink, had already moved machinery onto a site compound in Dunshauglin, Co Meath.