Two Irish projects and three multi-country projects involving Irish partners have been selected to receive funding from the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility for Transport (CEF Transport).
This will see more than €112m of EU funding invested in transport infrastructure projects that support Ireland’s connectivity and enhance the safety, sustainability and digitalisation of our transport systems. The Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) for Transport is the EU funding instrument that supports the development of the trans-European transport (TEN-T) network.
Dublin Port Company, Ireland’s largest port handling over 50% of national port tonnage, has been selected to receive a total of €73.8m towards key components of its 'MP2' Project which will increase berth capacity to handle projected future demand for Roll-On Roll-Off (RoRo) freight. This will meet the needs of economic growth, Ireland’s rising population, and operator demand for new RoRo services and larger vessels on direct services to Europe.
The funding will support the construction of two inter-dependent berths, totalling 572 metres, Berth 52 and Berth 53, at Terminal 5 at the eastern end of the North Port. They will include double tier linkspans, as well as infrastructure for the installation of onshore power 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 length.
The MP2 Project is the second core strategic project in the company’s Masterplan 2040. It 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 (load on, load off) traffic to 2040.
The Port of Cork Company, the second largest port in the State, has been selected to receive a total of €38.4m for the construction of two quay berths at the Port of Cork’s Ringaskiddy deep water port, Ringaskiddy East - Cork Container Terminal Berth Extension (CCT2) comprising a 200m extension to the existing container berth and the construction of Ringaskiddy West - Deepwater Berth Extension (DWB) comprising a 182m extension to the existing DWB. Onshore power supply infrastructure will be installed at both berths.
This project will see enhanced safe and reliable maritime access while providing essential infrastructure to meet the needs of the Offshore Renewable Energy (ORE) industry.
The Port of Cork’s new Cork Container Terminal (CCT) at Ringaskiddy costing €94m was officially opened in September 2022. This project was also supported by CEF funding.
Three multi-country consortium projects that included Irish partners were also selected to receive funding, including the ‘Clean ATM 2’ and ‘Green CNS’ air navigation and traffic management projects.
The Department of Transport/Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) are among the participants in the C-Roads European ITS Platform for roads, a platform project supporting the deployment of harmonised cooperative intelligent transport systems (C-ITS) services on roads across Europe.
Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan welcomed the news saying:
"It is good to see the award of significant CEF funding for projects at Dublin Port Company and the Port of Cork Company. Both port companies are designated as Tier 1 Ports of National Significance under National Ports Policy and as ‘Core ports’ on the North Sea – Rhine – Mediterranean and Atlantic European Transport corridors. It is vital that our ports develop modern, smart, sustainable, and resilient transport infrastructure for the economy, for connectivity and as vital hubs for our renewable energy transformation.
"The Port of Cork’s project will be capable of facilitating the Offshore Renewable Energy Industry with full planning permission already in place while both Dublin Port’s project and the Port of Cork’s project also encompass plans for providing infrastructure for the installation of onshore power supply showing how vital they are to our energy future."
Reacting to the news, Minister of State James Lawless said:
"As an island nation, sufficient capacity and the efficient and seamless operation of our ports are indispensable for the success of Ireland’s importers and exporters.
"In line with the National Development Plan (NDP) objectives and National Ports Policy, these multi-million infrastructure developments by both Dublin and Cork Port Companies will enhance Ireland’s capacity and connectivity and will allow the ports to respond to market needs, handle increases in ship sizes and frequency and serve the trading needs of the economy."