Port of Cork demands up to €65m for relocation
Port of Cork chief executive Brendan Keating said yesterday it is looking for Cork City Council to secure the funding package, which will be used to finance replacement facilities following the rollout of the Docklands development project.
He said the port is in discussions with Cork City Council on the matter.
“We fully support the Docklands Development initiative but we have advised Cork City Council that an overall funding package will be required for the provision of alternative facilities to be built in the lower harbour,” he said.
Mr Keating said the city council has also been advised that the Port of Cork cannot consider relocating trading activities from the city quays until such time as the overall funding package is put in place.
The relocation of the port from the city centre to new facilities in the lower harbour at Ringaskiddy, by the Oyster Bank and the ADM Jetty has previously been estimated to cost 80m but Mr Keating said yesterday his estimate is closer to €65m.
The port’s plan to move downstream was first outlined in its Strategic Development Study published in February 2002.
It has identified the deep-water berth in Ringaskiddy, increasing vessel sizes, the City Docklands development plan and the limited capacity of the Tivoli container facility as the main drivers behind the move to Ringaskiddy.
The company is planning to have the new container terminal facility operational by 2010.
A spokesman from Cork City Council said last night that they are aware of this request from the Port of Cork and they are working with them to resolve any issues they have.
Yesterday, the Port of Cork company reported record profits for last year, up 6.3% to €5.4 million and a 5.9% increase in revenues to €23.2m.
Total cargo last year at the port was 10.3 million tonnes, the second year in a row that throughput was in excess of 10 million tonnes, it said.
Port of Cork chairman Dermot O’Mahoney said: “The increase in container traffic of 10.6% to 185,000 teu (20-foot equivalent unit) shows the critical role played by the Port of Cork Company in facilitating trade to and from the island.
“A major challenge now facing the Port of Cork Company is the provision of port infrastructure in response to the pace of growth in port traffic,” he added.
The company said yesterday that RPS Consulting Engineers has prepared plans for the new port facility in Ringaskiddy and has also completed a masterplan optimising port lands in this area.
Mr Keating said: “The challenge for Cork city and the region over the period to 2013 will be to significantly accelerate the rate of development and population growth.”
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