€38m port expansion for Shannon estuary

A large portion of the Shannon estuary is to be reclaimed as part of a €38m expansion of port facilities.

The year-long project will employ up to 150 people during the infilling in Foynes, the demolition of the existing east jetty and the reclamation of 13,500m of foreshore.

The expansion is expected to cost the Shannon Foynes Port Company, the country’s largest bulk port operation, about €12m – and it will provide increased operations and faster discharge times for cargo boats.

Larger cranes will also be fitted to the new jetty allowing the port to handle a wider variety of goods.

Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe said the investment was part of wider plans to double the port’s trade over the next 30 years.

“The port is seeking to maximise the enormous potential of the Shannon estuary and anticipates that the number of people employed in port activities will increase by 25% over the period,” he said.

“The long-term job creation figures, of up to 2,000 jobs, are based on anticipated expansion in existing heavy industries as well as planned projects such as the Shannon LNG terminal. I am delighted to see investment of this scale, knowing the impact it will have on the Mid-West region generally.”

The Shannon Foynes Port Company facilitates international trade valued at more than €6bn ever year through the six port facilities on the Shannon estuary.

A further investment of €22m was announced for the port by a private investor, CPL, for the construction of a new smokeless fuel depot – and another 4 million euro is being invested by Argosea in a 1,400 sqm warehouse for the storage of animal feeds.

Work is due to begin on the infilling this month.

The Shannon Foynes Port Company said new quay areas will enable 40,000 tonne vessels alongside the quay which management said will make use of the estuary being the only natural watercourse in Ireland capable of handling the world’s largest vessels.

The port company’s chief executive Pat Keating said the investment will create real potential for further growth.

“The investment we are announcing is necessitated by significant growth at Foynes, our largest port, with tonnages almost back to the peak of 2006. We are reaching capacity at the east jetty and this investment will facilitate significant additional growth at the port,” he said.

“The very fact that this is the first major infrastructure in any seaport in Ireland since the 1990s speaks volumes about the growth trends and confidence in the business.”