Dublin Port Company has opened the €48m investment, with Dublin Ferryport Terminals (DFT) confirmed as the first to operate at the facility.

Dublin Inland Port, located some 14 km from the port, spans over 44 ha and is directly accessible through the Dublin Port Tunnel. It can accommodate up to 6,000 containers at any one time.

DFT's lease runs for 20 years, and the company will establish a 5.0 ha empty container depot (to be named Dublin Ferryport Inland Depot).

According to DFT, the move, alongside other investments such as five new rubber-tyred gantry cranes, will increase the yearly handling capacity of its Dublin sea container terminal by 20% (from 2022's second half).

"The new licence to operate our Dublin Ferryport Inland Depot at Dublin Inland Port comes at an important time for our business. To meet growing customer demand for our lo-lo freight handling services, we need to be able to move containers through the DFT terminal at Dublin Port in greater numbers than before, and more frequently. Dublin Inland Port will give us the flexibility, and much needed additional capacity to do that," Declan Freeman, Managing Director of Irish Continental Group's Container and Terminal Division (parent company of DFT), said.

He furthered, "[...] It will allow our customers to maximise their trucking capacity and provide a modern empty depot facility with the enhanced possibility to upgrade both dry and refrigerated containers to meet the growing demands of exporters in the pharmaceutical and agri-food sector."

Photo: Dublin Port Company