Hi °C | Lo °C THE country's largest bulk port company has announced plans for a €12m expansion of dock facilities at the Shannon estuary.
Planning permission has been secured by Shannon Foynes Port Company (SFPC) for the expansion of a new dock at Foynes, Co Limerick.
Construction work, employing 150 people, will begin in 2015 and plans are being prepared to attract the world's biggest supertankers to the western port.
SFPC has today unveiled plans to double its trade in the next three decades with the publication of it's masterplan, 'Vision 2041'.
Senior management at the company said 2,000 indirect jobs could be created over the next 30 years if transport links to the region were improved along with facilities on the estuary.
SFPC currently helps to facilitate international trade valued at over €6bn per annum through the six port facilities on the Shannon estuary.
Speaking in Foynes today, Transport Minister Leo Varadkar said he wanted to commend the port for drafting such a realistic, achievable and ambitious plan.
"Shannon Foynes Port Company is an important asset for the south west of Ireland, and for our national economy, and I welcome its goal to attract significant international investment," Mr Varadkar said.
