Green light for Lynxs cargo facility

THE Dublin Airport Authority has agreed to provide investment for the development of a Lynxs Cargo facility at Shannon Airport. Minister for Finance Michael Noonan made the announcement on Monday and it is understood the investment will be between €5 million and €6m, despite earlier reports that it would be in the region of €8m.

Speaking to the Mid-West Society of Chartered Accountants, Mr Noonan said, “On the Shannon issue, there has been some good news. The Shannon authorities have been successful in getting the Dublin Airport Authority to put in the type of investment that is necessary to bring the Lynxs project into Shannon.”
He said he expects the project should “be in a position to move on now”.
In 2009, Lynxs and the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) signed a memorandum of understanding for the purpose of jointly developing a major international logistics hub. It is thought with the investment available, Shannon is in a position to fulfill its side of the bargain.
Last year, chairman of the SAA, Brian O’Connell said the development of the facility could give a serious jobs boost to the Mid-West in the long term.
“At present, there are about 3,000 people currently employed in logistics in the Shannon Region. The creation of a logistics centre at Shannon and the development of a marine transportation hub on the estuary could potentially lead to the creation of further employment for 5,000 people in logistics and related high-end manufacturing in the wider region over the next 10 to 15 years,” he said at the time.
He added that the development of cargo facilities in North Carolina and Alaska had delivered major economic boosts to the regions, while he noted that almost all of Ireland’s air freight has to first be brought by road to the UK or Europe.
“Let’s bring that business home, let’s bring that business to Shannon,” Mr O’Connell commented.
When the Lynxs group and Shannon Airport announced they had signed the memorandum in March 2009, they released a joint statement outlining what was involved. It was then expected work would be finished by now.
“The planned cargo port would be built at a cost of $15 million and would include aircraft parking configurations, an immediate taxiway and access to public roads. Preliminary building specifications for the cargo facility also include clear spans, chilled and freezer storage; air-specifications for the cargo facility also include clear spans, chilled and freezer storage, air conditioned offices, heated warehouse space and automobile parking for office and warehouse. Shannon Airport has also provided Lynxs with rights for the development of any and all airport cargo facilities on the site until it is fully occupied. Lynxs anticipates a groundbreaking event by mid-2010 with the final stages of construction to be completed by early 2011 for what will be the first new cargo development project in over 10 years,” the statement read at the time.
This week’s announcement has been welcomed by politicians of various hues around the Mid-West. Fine Gael Deputy Pat Breen said, “I welcome the fact that the DAA have finally approved the funding for the establishment of the Lynxs Cargo project and this funding will be matched by a €12m investment by Lynxs. Lynxs Cargo is a global airport cargo facility, who are specialists in international logistics services. Lynxs operate their trans-pacific hub in Anchorage in the US and their facility at Shannon Airport will be their first real project in Europe.”
He said the development could result in a significant employment boost. “This project has the potential to develop Shannon Airport as Ireland’s premier cargo airport, creating hundreds of much-needed jobs here in the Mid-West Region. It will also place Shannon Airport in a stronger position to negotiate an extension to the US preclearance facility to include freight.”
His party colleague Joe Carey said, “I will be pressing for negotiations to be completed in a timely fashion so that this project can move to construction phase as soon as possible.”
Fianna Fáil’s Timmy Dooley said he had campaigned extensively on the issue. “I went to the UK to meet representatives of Lynxs a year and a half ago. I have also met members of the board and executives from the DAA a number of times and I am pleased that the decision has been taken to invest and to have this development on the airport campus.”