Dublin Port has launched a €400 million project that will include a new bridge across the River Liffey, three new public parks and five kilometres of cycle and pedestrian routes.
The 3FM Project for Poolbeg Peninsula is the third and final Masterplan project for the development of Dublin Port, which will bring it to its final capacity by 2040, Dublin Port Company (DPC) said.
The project will deliver 20 per cent of the capacity required by 2040 on one-fifth of Dublin Port’s lands, all located on the Poolbeg Peninsula, at the estimated cost of €400 million.
Construction will commence in 2026 and will be completed between 2030 and 2035. DPC said the project is currently at the pre-planning stage and it will lodge a planning application with An Bord Pleanála in early 2023.
Thursday’s launch is “the start of a detailed conversation with all stakeholders before that work begins,” DPC said, with the company to prepare detailed project design and environmental impact reports before it lodges its planning application.
Project elements
The project will include a new private road to link the north and south port areas, which DPC said will take HGVs off the public road.
As part of this route, a new bridge across the River Liffey immediately east of the Tom Clarke Bridge will also give pedestrians, cyclists and public transport users a less congested route for travel across the city, the company added.
Other elements of the project include the construction of the largest container terminal in the country in front of ESB’s Poolbeg Power Station, the creation of a new Ro-Ro freight terminal and the creation of a 325-metre-diameter ship turning circle in front of Pigeon House Harbour.
The project will also see the development of 15.1 acres of new public parks in three locations on the Poolbeg Peninsula, including a 5.2 acre sailing, rowing and maritime campus adjacent to the existing Poolbeg Yacht Club.
There will also be 5.5 kilometres of cycle paths and pedestrian routes throughout the Poolbeg Peninsula, DPC said.
The 3FM Project will make a huge contribution to the provision of high-quality walking and cycling routes throughout the Poolbeg Peninsula
“Masterplan 2040 projects that Dublin Port will need capacity for an annual throughput of 3.1 million trailers and containers by 2040. The 3FM Project will deliver one-fifth of this capacity by way of a new Lo-Lo terminal - 360,000 containers per annum - and a new Ro-Ro freight terminal - 288,000 freight trailers per annum,” Dublin Port chief executive Eamonn O’Reilly said.
“The 3FM Project will make a huge contribution to the provision of high-quality walking and cycling routes throughout the Poolbeg Peninsula," he continued.
"The new bridge we are proposing as part of the Southern Port Access Route will link this network across the river into the north side of Dublin Port, where we already have 10 kilometres of cycling and pedestrian routes under development.”
Details of the 3FM Project are now available to view online at www.dublinport3fm.ie. DPC is inviting people to submit comments and queries on any aspect of the project to 3fm@dublinport.ie by December 31st of this year.
