Ministers at the Department of Transport have welcomed the award of more than €2.3 million in funding to Shannon Foynes Port Company under the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).
The co-funding will support a feasibility study to prepare for future development of a new deep-water berth and associated infrastructure at Foynes Port in Limerick.
Required infrastructure for these plans includes the construction of a bridge to link the new deep-water berth to the existing port area on the mainland. The study wills consider internal rail infrastructure.
It’s expected that this development at Shannon Foynes Port “will generate a considerably higher level of freight traffic and enhance connectivity along the North Sea-Mediterranean Corridor”, Transport says.
Reacting to the funding announcement, Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan said: “This is really positive news for Shannon Foynes Port Company and for Ireland. International connectivity is critical for our economic development.
“This feasibility study by Shannon Foynes Port Company will provide the basis for a new deep-water berth which can accommodate larger vessels and meet projected demand in the coming years. The project has also been designed to facilitate the potential role the port can play in the expansion of offshore wind energy in the future.”
Minister of State Hildegarde Naughton also welcomed the news. “Irish ports continue to benefit from financial backing by the European Union through the Connecting Europe Facility programme,” she said. “This award of over €2.3 million to Shannon Foynes Port Company represents another strong signal of the important role the port and its hinterland areas play in the EU’s TEN-T network.”
CEF funding supports projects on the EU’s Trans-European Networks in the fields of transport, energy and telecoms. The European Commission announced the selection decision of the call on 15 July and the full list of projects proposed to be funded is available online.
The news comes as the State-owned port company reported a 7.6% decline in turnover last year to €12.9 million as pre-tax profits fell from €4.9 million to €3.1 million due to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. Afloat.ie has more on the story HERE.
