Port of Cork Company applies for planning to continue major Ringaskiddy expansion

Development includes work on the new container terminal in the lower harbour

A bulk carrier offloading her cargo at Ringaskiddy. Plans have been lodged to continue development of the port's facilities in Ringaskiddy. Picture: David Creedon

The Port of Cork Company has applied for planning permission for a major redevelopment of its facilities at Ringaskiddy to secure the port’s commercial future, including the new container terminal and multipurpose berth.

The plans lodged with An Bord Pleanála come four months after then Minister for Public Expediture and now Finance Minister Paschal Donohue announed funding of €99m towards the Port’s redevelopment through the Irish Strategic Investment Funds (ISIF) sovereign development fund.

The plans will take cargo traffic out of the city and allow for larger commerical traffic vessels to operate in the lower harbour. Previous planning permission for some of the works is nearing expiry, so the Port of Cork is reapplying for necessary approval, through planning consultants McCutcheon Halley.

The Port of Cork Co was granted a 10-year Strategic Infrastructure Development (SID) permission by An Bord Pleanála on May 28, 2015, but elements of the permitted project remain to be developed. “The planning permission expires on the 20th of October 2025 and it will not be possible to complete all of the remaining elements of the permission within the lifetime of the permission,” said a planning statement.

The Port redevelopment project has already seen the €89m Ringaskiddy Container Terminal successfully open three years ago.

The planning application lodged this month with Bord Pleanála for Ringaskiddy East would include construction of the remaining phases of a 200-metre container terminal/multipurpose berth, which will ultimately take cargo traffic out of the city centre. The works on the container terminal/multipurpose berth are already under construction. This Port of Cork Masterplan envisaged the deep water berth extension allowing for an additional two million tonnes of dry bulks and project cargoes per year.

The planning application also seeks approval for dredging of the seabed; installation of a link-span drawbridge comprising a floating pontoon and access bridge, and ancillary works. Works at Ringaskiddy West would include extending the existing deepwater berth, dredging to facilitate navigational access, services and lighting and road improvements.

The works are viewed as key to future growth and competitiveness of the Port of Cork. “The extension is a critical component of a broader strategy to accommodate the shift of port facilities from Cork City Centre to the lower harbour, driven by increasing vessel sizes and the projected growth in both population and commercial activities,” said the planning statement.

The construction of the second container berth at Ringaskiddy East will provide capacity to support offshore renewable energy (ORE), as the new berth will have the loading capacity to accommodate the assembly of ORE components.

The Port of Cork Masterplan 2050 set out an ambition is to achieve “a 51% reduction in overall greenhouse-gas emissions by 2030 and to set ourselves on a path to reach net zero emissions by 2050”.