Budget 2025: €99m deal agreed to fund major Port of Cork expansion
The Picture: The David Berth The Terminal Will Of Container Two And Construction Cork West Extension The Deepwater Extension, The Creedon Expansions Money Berth Fund Also Called Help Ringaskiddy One East Berth Ringaskiddy Other Called —
A €99m financing deal has been agreed to fund a major expansion of the Port of Cork’s facilities to help drive growth in the offshore renewable energy sector.
The funding deal with the Irish Strategic Investment Funds (ISIF) announced as part of the budget closes a funding gap which had threatened the port’s ability to expand its deepwater facilities at Ringaskiddy, for which planning permission is in place.
Last July, as the port was lobbying for funding for the ambitious project, it confirmed it had secured a €38.4m EU grant from the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). That closed the funding gap somewhat but still left a significant shortfall that had to be bridged.
ISIF is a sovereign development fund with a unique mandate to invest on a commercial basis to support economic activity and employment in Ireland and is managed and controlled by the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA).
The ISIF funding announced by Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe as part of his budget speech effectively bridges the remaining funding gap, and paves the way for the port company to now proceed with its major expansion plans. The announcement follows months of negotiations.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin said he had hoped that the funding deal would have happened quicker but he welcomed the confirmation and said he looks forward to seeing the port company delivering on the planning permission.
“This is a major boost for the Port of Cork and will allow the port to extend and deliver multi-purpose infrastructure to facilitate the renewable energy sector,” he said.
“This funding announcement now gives the port company certainty and underlines the pivotal role it will play in the years ahead in terms of the growth of the renewable energy sector.”
It will use the multi-million package to fund the construction of two quay berths at its deepwater site in Ringaskiddy, enabling it to accommodate a larger volume of vessels, while increasing throughput efficiency and its ability to serve a broader range of international customers.
The money will also help fund the construction of two berth expansions — one called the Ringaskiddy East - Cork Container Terminal Berth Extension, and the other called the Ringaskiddy West - Deepwater Berth Extension (DWB).
The Ringaskiddy East project will see a 200m extension to the existing container berth, with associated works including dredging, piling, quay deck construction, quayside utilities, and on-shore power supply infrastructure.
The Ringaskiddy West project will involve a 182m extension to the existing deepwater berth, with associated works again including dredging, piling, quay deck construction, quay utilities, and power infrastructure.
The development of these facilities aimed specifically at the offshore sector is a key ambition in the port’s ambitious Masterplan 2050 vision document.
The port’s container terminal, which opened at Ringaskiddy in 2022 costing €94m, was also supported by CEF funding, in conjunction with bank financing.
Conor Mowlds, the port company's chief commercial officer, welcomed the news. "The Port of Cork Company is delighted to have the opportunity to collaborate with ISIF on this commercially-funded critical port infrastructure project," he said. "We have been working on this for quite some time and it is thanks to the help of ISIF and CINEA that we have been able to bridge the vital funding gap that we had identified."