Dublin Inland Port Officially Opens

Dublin Ferryport Terminals was the first company to begin operating at the state-of-the-art Dublin Inland Port in North Dublin.

November 2021 saw the official opening of Dublin Inland Port, as Dublin Ferryport Terminals (DFT) was confirmed as the first company licenced to begin operating at the state-of-the-art facility in north Dublin.

The move enables DFT, as the operator of one of the country’s largest container terminals, to increase its total throughput handling capacity at Dublin Port by 20%.

DPC has invested more than €48 million to date acquiring and developing Dublin Inland Port on a 44-hectare site some 14km from Dublin Port, with direct access to the M50 and to Dublin Port via the Dublin Port Tunnel.

The opening of Dublin Inland Port delivers on a key commitment in DPC’s Masterplan 2040 to maximise the use of existing port lands by allowing port-related, but non-core activities, such as empty container storage, to be relocated away from Dublin Port.

The development at Dublin Inland Port will result in more efficient use of the Dublin Port Tunnel and of Dublin Port’s internal network by diverting HGVs dropping off or collecting empty containers to Dublin Inland Port.

GROWING DEMAND FOR LO-LO FREIGHT HANDLING

DFT signed a 20-year lease with DPC to run a new five-hectare empty container depot at the facility. The empty container depot will be run under the brand name Dublin Ferryport Inland Depot (DFID). DFT, owned by Irish Continental Group (ICG), is also the operator of one of Dublin Port’s three container terminals, identifiable by its red cranes.

DFT will relocate its current empty depot business to Dublin Inland Port from its container terminal in Dublin Port, thereby freeing up capacity to handle more full containers.

The freed-up space at DFT will increase its capacity by 20% from the second half of 2022 after completion of further development at the terminal, including the delivery of five new Rubber Tyred Gantry Cranes.

“The new licence to operate our Dublin Ferryport Inland Depot (DFID) at Dublin Inland Port comes at an important time for our business,” explained Declan Freeman, Managing Director of ICG’s Container and Terminal Division. “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.”

He described Dublin Inland Port as “an ideal location”, just off the N2 at Coldwinters, and only 15 minutes from the DFT terminal in Dublin Port. “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,” Declan noted.

“The relocation of our empty depot business, the investments we will make in groundworks and the delivery of five new Rubber Tyred Gantries (RTGs) at our DFT terminal will provide much needed capacity in Dublin Port from the second half of 2022,” he continued. “We are delighted to partner with Dublin Port on this exciting development at Dublin Inland Port and assist Dublin Port in delivering on its Masterplan 2040 objectives.”

DPC has invested more than €48 million to date acquiring and developing this state-of-the-art hub. Cormac Kennedy, Head of Property, Dublin Port Company, said: “This depot has been constructed to the highest of standards and occupies one of the best locations to access Dublin Port. The current phase at Dublin Inland Port is capable of accommodating up to 6,000 shipping containers at any one time when fully operational, in an area the same size as Merrion Square. Other shipping and logistics operators will join DFT at the facility as DPC continues to maximise the capacity of Dublin Port’s existing footprint to meet national port capacity requirements in the period of Masterplan 2040.”