Dublin Port launched its Masterplan 2040 Reviewed 2018, updating the long-term development plan for the port first published in 2012. The Masterplan 2040 Reviewed 2018 is based on four key changes, which aim to achieve the port’s development plans.
Specifically, in order to meet its target, the Port of Dublin will make the following changes:
- The port will now be developed based on an average annual growth rate of 3.3% from 2010 to 2040 rather than the 2.5% originally proposed in 2012.
- The capacity of the port will be increased to cater for a growth to an ultimate capacity of 77m gross tonnes by 2040 rather than the 60m gross tonnes as originally proposed in 2012.
- This will be accomplished with no further infill into Dublin Bay. The option of increasing port capacity by an eastwards expansion into Dublin Bay has been definitively ruled out.
- Where Masterplan 2012-2040 had envisaged deepening the port ultimately to 12.0m, this will not now happen and the current works to deepen the port to 10.0m will be the final deepening of Dublin Port, the end of a process which commenced in the 18th Century with the completion of the Great South Wall.
In addition, in order to achieve a higher throughput on a smaller footprint, two initiatives will be followed:
- The development of the 44-hectare Dublin Inland Port located 14 km from Dublin Port just off the N2. Work has started on the development of Dublin Inland Port and the first facilities are due to be operational there during 2019.
- The specification of projects to maximise the use of port lands on the Poolbeg Peninsula based on enhanced access via a new Southern Port Access Route (SPAR).
Masterplan 2040 Reviewed 2018 comes after an 18-month review period, which included extensive public consultation and the completion of major environmental studies, including a Strategic Transportation Study and a Strategic Environmental Assessment, which identifies reduced environmental impact from the developments.
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Dublin Port will bring the second major Masterplan project (the MP2 Project) forward for planning before the end of 2018. This project will provide additional capacity on the north side of the port for Ro-Ro and Lo-Lo services to both the UK and Continental European markets.
The Masterplan also outlines developments for port lands on the Poolbeg Peninsula, including the building of a new Southern Port Access Route (SPAR) to provide access between the Dublin Port Tunnel and the south port lands. These developments will be the third and final major Masterplan project and are expected to have been completed by 2035.
In additio, the new plan identifies the need for reviews of port infrastructure charges to make sure that Dublin Port can be developed according to with Government policy and in compliance with the EU Port Regulation 2017/352, which will come into force in March 2019.
Eamonn O’Reilly, Chief Executive, commented on the occasion:
Achieving sustainability is a considerable challenge and we are committed in Dublin Port to doing that in the case of port operations. Critically, the Masterplan provides certainty on the ultimate extent and environmental impact of the Port.
