Dublin Port Company receives €73.8m for Ro-Ro berths ‣ WorldCargo News

Dublin Port Company’s MP2 Project received €73.8 million from the EU’s CEF Transport programme to increase berth capacity for future Ro-Ro freight demand.

Dublin Port Company’s MP2 Project has been awarded €73.8 million in funding from the EU’s CEF Transport (Connecting Europe Facility for Transport) programme.

The CEF Transport funding will be applied to key components of the MP2 Project, aiming to increase berth capacity to handle future demand for Ro-Ro freight. This will meet the needs of economic growth, Ireland’s rising population, operator demand for new Ro-Ro services and the need for larger vessels on direct services to Europe.

The project includes the construction of two berths, totalling 572 metres, Berth 52 and Berth 53, at Terminal 5 at the eastern end of the North Port.

The berths will include double-tier linkspans, where two decks of a ferry can be loaded simultaneously, as well as infrastructure for the installation of shore-side electricity supply for ships while berthed in port. The berths are designed to cater for the largest-in-class Ro-Ro vessels of up to 240m in length.

Speaking about the award, Dublin Port Company CEO Barry O’Connell said: “Dublin Port is Ireland’s largest port, handling 80% of unitised freight volumes in the Republic of Ireland. We are a Tier 1 Port of National Significance under the National Ports Policy and a ‘Core Port’ on the North Sea Mediterranean and Atlantic core network TEN-T corridors.

“Our Masterplan 2040 is designed to ensure continued capacity to deliver Ireland’s key infrastructure requirements and the MP2 Project is the second core strategic project from this plan. Significantly, it includes providing infrastructure for the installation of shore-to-ship power – significantly reducing in-port emissions from berthed vessels.”

The MP2 Project is one of the three core projects in the Port’s Masterplan 2040, the first of which is the Alexandra Basin Redevelopment (ABR) Project which also received CEF support, and considerable work has already been undertaken on this project.

The MP2 Project focuses on the use of existing port lands in the north-eastern part of the Port estate. When complete, it will provide additional capacity for almost one-third of the projected increases in Dublin Port’s Ro-Ro and Lo-Lo traffic to 2040.

The third and final core project to complete Masterplan 2040 is the 3FM Project, which is focused on developing additional port capacity on port-owned brown-field lands on the Poolbeg Peninsula.

The MP2 Project is one of 134 projects within a €7 billion EU investment being announced today, supporting sustainable, safe and smart transport infrastructure.

Under the wider funding announced on July 17, maritime ports in Ireland, Spain, Finland, the Netherlands, Germany, Malta, Lithuania, Cyprus, Croatia, Greece and Poland will be upgraded; developments will allow them to supply shore-side electricity to vessels and transport offshore renewable energy. Two Irish ports (Dublin Port and Port of Cork) and three multi-country projects involving Irish partners were selected to receive funding.