Construction work on a new £8 million jetty is to begin at the port of Foynes on the Shannon estuary next month. This is part of a £20 million plan for which up to 300 permanent jobs are projected in warehousing, port-related industries and commercial enterprises.
The new jetty, which will be 270 metres long, is to replace the existing west jetty. The project will take more than 18 months to complete.
"It has Government approval and work will begin shortly", the chief executive and trade development officer at Foynes Port Company, Mr Frank O'Malley, said. The new jetty will increase port business by more than 33 per cent, according to Mr O'Malley.
Advertisements were placed at the weekend by Michael Punch & Partners, consulting engineers, Limerick, for a senior resident engineer and an assistant resident engineer for the project.
This development follows the recent controversy surrounding the resignation of the Foynes Port Company's chairman, Mr Sean Hanratty, and the resultant inquiry by the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, Dr Woods, into salaries and structures in the company and in other ports throughout the country.
