Harbour construction set to create 500 jobs

Date Published: 20-Jan-2011

The construction phase of the redevelopment of Galway Harbour will create more than 500 jobs in Galway city, according to a city councillor and former board member of Galway Harbour Company.

The €50 million plans for the first stage of the ambitious redevelopment of the city’s docklands go on public display today to allow the public to make submissions on the proposals, which will facilitate the berthing of cruise liners in Galway.

Fine Gael Councillor Brian Walsh, who was a member of the Strategic Development Committee that brought the idea of a new port to fruition, said that the project would provide a boost for employment in both the short and the long-term.

"Economists advise that every €100m spent on construction projects creates 1,000 jobs. By that logic, the first stage of the redevelopment alone should create 500 jobs for Galway" he said.

“The plans that have been devised will also facilitate increased commercial activity at the port and the ability to accommodate large cruise liners will be worth a lot to the local economy and provide a new dimension to tourism in the city.”

The plans that go on public display at the Galway Harbour Hotel today involve the reclamation of more than 23 hectares of land and the construction of a new harbour that will extend almost a kilometre out to sea.

Some 660m of quay berth will facilitate the docking of oil tankers, cargo vessels, fishing vessels and passenger ships. A western marina will also provide berths for up to 216 leisure craft. The plans are due to be submitted to An Bord Pleanala in April.

According to studies conducted by academics at University College Cork (UCC), the cruise liner market is calculated to be worth more than €40m annually to the local economy.

Plans for the redevelopment of Galway Harbour are on public display at the Galway Harbour Hotel today (Friday) and tomorrow (Saturday). Senior personnel from Galway Harbour Company will be in attendance from 2pm to 8pm today and from 12pm to 6pm tomorrow.

For more on this story, see the Galway City Tribune.