Major restructuring work is soon to begin at the port of Foynes in Limerick in Ireland, designed to develop the sea transport hub into a key international shipping area.

Announcing the largest infrastructure port project in Ireland since the turn of the millennium, Shannon Foynes Port Company (SFPC) says the first phase will get under way later this month.

The first elements of the development were launched by Ireland's Minister for Transport and Tourism Paschal Donohoe earlier this week and are part of the wider 'Masterplan, Vision 2041'.

They encompass a €50 million (US$56.8 million) jetty program designed to unlock the potential of the port and help capitalize on Irish and international markets by handling the world’s largest ships and transform it into one of the biggest bulk harbours in Europe.

SFPC chief executive Pat Keating says the development will keep the company's aggressive growth plans on target, and demonstrates the success of the port which has returned to pre-recession volumes.

"The investment we are announcing is necessitated by significant growth at Foynes, our largest port, with tonnage almost back to the peak of 2006," he says in a statement.

"We are reaching capacity at the East jetty and this investment will facilitate significant additional growth at the port.

"The very fact that this is the first major infrastructure in any seaport in Ireland since the 1990’s speaks volumes about the growth trends and confidence in business."

The port expansion will add an additional 35,000 square meters of berthing space, expand quay storage and allow larger container cargo ships with 40,000 ton capacities to berth at the port as well as sped up turnaround times for customers.

The master plan is to unlock the potential of the Shannon Estuary, the only natural watercourse in Ireland capable of handling large vessels and in turn create up to 3,000 jobs over the next quarter century.

Currently SFPC facilitates international trade valued at more than €6 billion (US$6.8 billion) per year through its six port facilities on the estuary.

Funding for the capital investment program is already in place with the majority coming from SFPC reserves plus some external finance.

"This investment will remove significant traffic bottleneck on the port, deliver faster turnaround times and give us the capacity to grow our business further," says SFPC chairman Michael Collins.

"The potential of the estuary and our port facilities is enormous. Thanks to a range of unique advantages, not least the unrivalled depths of the Shannon Estuary and its ability to handle vessels larger than any other water course in Ireland, this is a strategic facility that has the potential to unlock huge growth opportunities for not just this region but Ireland."

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