[Article] Limerick port may sell to developers

Maskhadov

16/03/06

Limerick port may sell to developers
By Jimmy Woulfe
A €100M strategic overhaul of shipping facilities on the Shannon Estuary may be funded by the sale of Limerick port for development as a major residential and recreational area.

The upgrade of shipping facilities, announced yesterday, is being carried out by the Shannon Foynes Port Company (SFPC) the estuary port authority.

SFPC manages six port installations on the Shannon Estuary, including Foynes, Limerick, and Aughinish.

SFPC chief executive Brian Byrne confirmed that part of the strategic review would involve investigating the future development of Limerick port for non-shipping, commercial purposes.

SFPC owns or has long-term leases on nearly 75 acres in Limerick port and there is growing speculation that the company wants to sell off the port to developers and transfer its port business to Foynes.



Foynes handles 1.6 million tonnes of cargo a year, compared to 600,000 tonnes at Limerick port.

Mr Byrne said yesterday: "As part of the present strategic review we will be going to the market to attract developer interest in Limerick to see what we are sitting on."

He said they were obliged to utilise property assets to secure the future of the Shannon Estuary as a port area.

Limerick City Council, Shannon Development and SFPC have drawn up a master plan for Limerick port which would see it converted into a major shopping, residential, recreational, hotel and restaurant area.

Mr Byrne said: "The critical importance of the proposed investment is underpinned by the fact that 98% of Ireland's internationally traded goods now valued at over €100 billion annually are handled through the country's ports."

Last year, the SFPC ports handled 11.4 million tones of cargo, a 7% increase on the previous year.

It is anticipated that by 2010, traffic handling capacity through SFPC facilities will have reached more than 14 million tonnes.

Over the past five years, SFPC has invested €25m in improving port facilities in the Shannon Estuary.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/pport/web/business/Full_Story/did-sgrVpMHuPJ2zQsgDQQ5wn3uAIg.asp

Port company to review portfolio
Claire Shoesmith

The Shannon Foynes Port Company (SPFC), Ireland's largest bulk cargo handler, is conducting a review of its property and land portfolio, which may result in the investment of more than €100 million in its facilities and the disposal of several non-core properties.

The aim of the review is to increase capacity, storage and overall throughput at Ireland's second-largest port.

SFPC, a State-owned company that manages six port installations on the Shannon Estuary, estimates that by 2010 more than 14 million tonnes of material will pass through its facilities each year.
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This compares with 11.4 million tonnes last year, 7 per cent on 2004.

Yesterday's announcement represents a significant increase in investment - since its inception in 2000 the company has invested only about €25 million in its operations, and signals a long-term commitment to the provision of modern port facilities.

"Our prime objective is to concentrate on our core business and the proposed investment in the expansion of facilities and services by SFPC highlights the potential for the mid west to continue to achieve economic growth," said Brian Byrne, the group's chief executive.

As much as 98 per cent of Ireland's internationally traded goods, worth more than €100 billion a year, are handled through the country's ports.

The proposed investment will likely be welcomed by the Irish Exporters' Association, which yesterday in its submission to the Government's second National Development Plan, emphasised the need for increased investment in the country's port infrastructure .

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/finance/2006/0316/1302663281BZSHANNONFOYNES.html

© The Irish Times

Personally I think this is an excellent oppurtunity to relocate out of Limerick to a deep port which can service all of IReland and all of the EU as well.

In the future this port should then be link via High Speed Rail (Freight only) from Shannon - Limerick to Tuskar and onto England and Mainland Europe.

Transport21 Fan

Foynes is just a couple of sheds in a field next to a river. The way they talk about it you would think it was Singapore or Rotterdam.

dowlingm

T21

it's a couple of sheds near a rail line, which is more than can be said for Limerick Port. The completed ring road will facilitate easier routing around Limerick The price of docklands land must be skyrocketing given the developments in Limerick (check out Archiseek.com) so SFPC could make a mint if they sold out. If that led to re-opening the Foynes line then commuter service to Adare/Patrickswell/Raheen could happen. There's also a possible mining project near Caherconlish/Pallasgreen on the LJ line which if given the go ahead could export via Foynes.

Victor

As much as 98 per cent of Ireland's internationally traded goods, worth more than €100 billion a year, are handled through the country's ports.

All well and good, but they mostly handle coal, oil and ore, not the most profitable activities about.

Transport21 Fan

dowlingm wrote:

T21

it's a couple of sheds near a rail line, which is more than can be said for Limerick Port. The completed ring road will facilitate easier routing around Limerick The price of docklands land must be skyrocketing given the developments in Limerick (check out Archiseek.com) so SFPC could make a mint if they sold out. If that led to re-opening the Foynes line then commuter service to Adare/Patrickswell/Raheen could happen. There's also a possible mining project near Caherconlish/Pallasgreen on the LJ line which if given the go ahead could export via Foynes.

The rail line at Foynes port itself is tottally unsuited to handling modern rail freight. It would require massive investment to make it happen. The tracks go nowhere near the waterfront. It's a very strange siding arrangment tucked away from all the action. It would cost megabucks to make work. Was there a few weeks back in terms of railfreight and sidings the whole set up is really shoddy and very old fashioned. They would have to construct massive conveyers and the like. Foynes is most certainly not a quayside railway site.

If the Pallas Green mine goes railfreight and this would be a great thing, I don't really see the point in spending all the money reopening the Foynes Line and then rebuilding the railway in the docks area when the ore trains can just go up to Dublin and unload the minerals at the Tara Mines yard. Reopening the Foynes branch and for this traffic would be a bit OTT when ore loading facilites next to a major port already exsist at Dublin.

If the mine was on the Foynes branch itself then it would make a lot of sense to reopen it, but it isn't, and quayside ore handling facilites already exsist in Dublin. So if Pallas Green starts operating the whole set up is more or less ready to go. No need to reopen Foynes. Trains would probably get to Dublin nearly as fast as Foynes as they would used the mainline and get some decent speeds.

Another thing about Foynes that always bothers me is the Port Company itself seems to not want to put a penny into developing the rail line to it. The mentality is "taxpayers give us the money and we'll collect the profits - it not a million miles from the National Toll Roads mentality".

dowlingm

T21

fair points - if a direct curve was done to the Nenagh line it would mean less impeding of Cork-Dublin traffic and improves the case for the Nenagh line. Environmentally though the best case is to use the shortest journey to a port, plus as I said the possibility of the mine owners ponying up some cash for the reopening.

I think there's a good case for SFPC to contribute to the railhead if they move Limerick Port seeing as they will be "in the money". However, I think SFPC's argument might be that the govt will pay for roads so why shouldn't it pay for rail.

Victor

http://www.imdo.ie/shannon-foynes-port-company.htm

http://www.imdo.ie/main.htm

Transport21 Fan

dowlingm wrote:

T21 fair points - if a direct curve was done to the Nenagh line it would mean less impeding of Cork-Dublin traffic and improves the case for the Nenagh line.

This never occured to me, but it's a pretty good idea. The Foynes line I don't think will ever reopen to heavy rail. Once the cement goes that's it. I suspect cycleway, pipeline or weeds.

dowlingm wrote:

Environmentally though the best case is to use the shortest journey to a port, plus as I said the possibility of the mine owners ponying up some cash for the reopening.

The thing is, mining is a funny industry. Price fluctuations even within a modest spread can either make ore extraction incredibly profitable or a loss maker. Look at Tara Mines. Can't see a private company paying for any more than a few sidings to the mine itself.

There is even no certainty that this mine will even be rail connected to begin with. Which is pretty depressing when you think about it. There should be no road option when dealing with ore transportation while a rail line is nearby. But this is Ireland.

I am very much against reopening closed rail lines unless they have a solid case. For me there is no more solid case that a mine. If a mine was discovered on the Burma Road tomorrow I would say reopen it.

We are nuts in this country in many ways. We reopen the WRC to Claremorris for a few grannies on 3 trains a day, but we see no big issue with mines, incinerators etc right beside rail lines and serving them with convoys of HGVs.

Transport21 Fan

"Foynes needs the rail line reopened as long as the Port Company does not have to pay for any of it of course - sure why not, and while you're at it we'll have a massive bridge across the Shannon for the HGVs we won't have anymore as it'll be all on railfreight...oh sorry wait, we mean there will be so much freight on the railway line when opened it won't be able to handle the capacity so we'll need the massive new 100 Million Euro Shannon bridge...yeah, that right, and tell ya what how about a metro connecting the four or five sheds in the field at Foynes, sorry we meant to say "Foynes Megaport" to transport the 50 or so people who work at the few sheds in a field next to the river as a counterbalance to the East and natually paid for by the taxpayers of the East. Sure Jaysus, it's social juctice is'nt it...."

Bridging the future . . . Clare to here just got closer
Indo
Tom Lyons

A �100m bridge across the Shannon could help turn the midwest into a gateway to Europe.

As our images reveal if the 3km bridge was completed it would take around 36km or up to an hour at peak times off the driving time from Foynes Port in county Limerick to Shannon airport.

Using an underground �380m tunnel which is planned for near Limerick the total journey is reduced by just 5km.

However, the promoters of the bridge, the Shannon Foynes Port Company, said that projected growth in the midwest meant the bridge and tunnel would complement each other by improving overall access to the region.

The bridge which is only at the feasibility stage is part of a strategy by the Shannon Foynes Port Company to work with other state agencies to create a "counterbalance" to the east coast of the country.

Combined with the completion of the duel carriage-way between Ennis in Clare and Galway it would more than double the existing catchment area of Shannon airport to more than 700,000 people.

The Shannon Foynes Port Company, which manages ports in the Shannon estuary including Limerick and Foynes, commissioned a study by engineering giant Parsons Brinkerhoff to examine the possibility of a bridge.

The international group concluded that a pre-cast bridge could be built in less than a year for under �100m.

The bridge would have a 100m wide navigational span which would be 30m above the Shannon estuary's mean high-water point to allow shipping get through.

Shannon Foynes is also conducting a review of its 45 acres of port property in Limerick city which could transform the docklands by creating a new "enterprise centre".

Such a development could release up to �100m in equity for the port company to expand its deep port facilities downstream in Foynes and invest in the bridge in what would probably be a public-private partnership arrangement.

Port chairman Kieran MacSweeney said he hoped the bridge would be included in the National Development Plan from 2006 to 2012.

"The bridge would be sufficiently further downstream that it would enhance and be in addition to the tunnel in Limerick."

He added: "This will need to get support from the NRA and the local authorities. It is a major project but one that brings major benefit. We are in the middle of discussing the opportunities.

"It should be viewed as integrated and uniting the region."

"We believe it fits perfectly with our plans on the basis that we will have the equity to pursue such an opportunity on the back of developments in Limerick," Mr MacSweeney said.

"You are talking about four or five years before such a bridge could became realised.

"But we have to start looking that far ahead," said the chairman who is also managing director of Avocent International, a US multinational.

"This region is getting bigger. We have to start looking at what the population base will be and what the infrastructural requirements will be in three to 10 years time.

"We also hope to create an international port complex with a transhipment hub downstream in Foynes."

"We see Rotterdam and other European ports becoming congested."

Mr MacSweeney added: "We see a huge opportunity evolving for the west of Ireland if we can leverage the transhipment hub complex.

"We have been talking about it for 20 years but now is the time to do it."

dowlingm

T21 fan - maybe they read your posts, concluded there was no way they'd reopen the rail line and shopped around for an oul' bridge

Victor

http://www.rte.ie/business/2008/0509/limerick.html

Limerick docks may relocate - report
Friday, 9 May 2008 18:44

Serious consideration should be given to relocating the commercial business out of Limerick city to Foynes, according to a new report on the future of the Limerick Docklands.

The report states that the throughput of the port has fallen short of forecasts, and despite the years of the Celtic tiger, no major new customer has come into the dock. This, the report says, will have serious implications in any decision to invest in new infrastructure at the port.

The report also says that the future of the Limerick docks would be secure and its use enhanced with a mix of leisure port activity, residential and business development.

AdvertisementSpokesperson for port users Liam Woulfe said today that users will have to be convinced that a move to Foynes will be economically and financially viable for them.

The report is to be considered by the board of Shannon Foynes Port Company before any decision is taken.

Amazotheamazing

I was under the impression, possibly mistaken, that Foynes is one of the few ports in Western Europe capable of dealing with "capers", the massive transport ships that can go around the capes? All the other ones are fairly well developed, Foynes, isn't. Still, the potential is there.

T21fan, surely it's not an issue of what is there now, but what could be there with proper, focussed investment?

Victor

Its not Foynes, it would have to be at Tarbert.

serfboard

Well I for one would have no objection to SFPC flogging off Limerick and using the windfall to build a new railway line and bridge at Foynes.

Provided they're not tolled, of course