Dublin Port has opened a formal public consultation on the 3FM Project, the third and final Masterplan project required to finish the growth of the Irish port and bring it to its ultimate and final capacity by 2040.
The 3FM project will produce 20% of the capacity needed by 2040 by focusing on Dublin Port lands on the Poolbeg Peninsula on the south side of the port.
According to a port’s statement, the Poolbeg peninsula has the highest concentration of significant utility activities in Ireland, including the largest wastewater treatment facility, the largest waste-to-energy plant, power stations, and a portion of the National Oil Reserve.
The 3FM project is an extension of the first two Masterplan stages, which concentrated on the Port areas north of the harbour – Alexandra Basin Redevelopment, which is approaching completion, and MP2, which has recently begun building. All three are foundations of Dublin Port Company’s highly strategic plan to port capacity maximization, which has been in place since 2010.
This public consultation session will be available until 28 April and it comes after early discussions with important stakeholders in 2021, as well as a first round of public interaction in November 2021. The feedback resulted in a number of significant modifications to the original plans.
Since then, Dublin Port Company has been working on comprehensive designs and environmental analyses in readiness for filing a planning proposal in the summer of 2023. This newest part of the consultation will include a series of Public Information Days in Poolbeg, Ringsend, and Clontarf where the Dublin Port team will be able to discuss the plans with members of the local communities.
The project has seven main elements: A new 2.2km road called the Southern Port Access Road (SPAR), the development of the largest container terminal in Ireland in front of the ESB’s Poolbeg Power Station, the relocation of container traffic to the east of the Port, a new 325-metre ship turning circle in front of Pigeon House Harbour, a utility area of 10,000 meters, a new maritime village and extensive community facilities.
