Dublin Ferryport Terminals (DFT) awarded a license to operate at new logistics hub will add 20% container handling capacity 

Dublin Port Company (DPC) has today announced that Dublin Inland Port will open in early November 2021, with Dublin Ferryport Terminals (DFT) confirmed as the first company licensed to begin operating at the state-of-the-art facility in North Dublin.

The move will enable 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 €48m 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 maximize 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.

DFT Awarded First Licence to Operate at Dublin Inland Port

The first operator at Dublin Inland Port is Dublin Ferryport Terminals (DFT).  DFT has 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.

Growing Demand for Lo-Lo Freight Handling 

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.

Declan Freeman, Managing Director of ICG’s Container and Terminal Division, said;

“The new licence to operate our Dublin Ferryport Inland Depot (DFID) 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.

“Dublin Inland Port is in an ideal location just off the N2 at Coldwinters, only 15 minutes from our 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.

“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. 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.”

Cormac Kennedy, Head of Property, Dublin Port Company, said;

“DPC has invested more than €48m to date acquiring and developing this state-of-the-art hub. This first phase of Dublin Inland Port will be ready to hand over to DFT in time to commence operations in November. We look forward to welcoming DFT and seeing their business go from strength to strength at the facility.

“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.”

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