THE Mayor of Shannon Town, Cllr Mary Brennan, told the Limerick Post that the establishment by the Lynxs Group of a cargo hub at Shannon will “definitely be the launch pad for Shannon to become a centre for cargo hubs”. Delighted with the “very welcome news,” she said that while the main function of the cargo hub is temperature control for items such as contact lenses, “they will also be shipping a lot of other cargo”.
The proposed multi-million euro development will involve the construction of new warehouse facilities at the airport.
Currently up to 80% of Ireland’s air freight is exported from outside the country.
Shannon based Senator Tony Mulcahy FG, said the project has been sought for the airport for many years.
“During my time as Mayor of Clare, I lead delegations to meet with the previous minister Noel Dempsey to push this development.
“With the new project we will see Shannon and the whole Mid West prosper, creating jobs in construction and staffing phases, with additional spin-off jobs when the facility is up and running”.
Shannon Airport Authority chairman, Brian O’Connell, said that expanding cargo traffic, as well . as annual passenger numbers, are targeted to increase to 2.5 million by 2015, with cargo traffic a key focus for growth into the future, but emphasised that expectations needed to be realistic.
“We need to have the positive support and participation of all business, tourism and other stakeholders in the wider region as we implement our four pronged strategy for growth”.
Speaking at a press conference at Dromoland Castle, Mr. O’Connell said that being successful operationally and commercially are “two sides of the one coin, which must be developed simultaneously”.
“Shannon can become Ireland’s major cargo airport.
“The creation of a Logistics Centre 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 the wider region over the next 10 to 15 years”.
Acknowledging the development as a major step towards a new cargo facility at Shannon, Deputy Kieran O’Donnell said:
“The air cargo business has great potential for Shannon and what we need now is for this partnership between Lynxs Group and the Shannon Airport Authority to develop so that air cargo will become a major component in Shannon’s business base”. Deputy O’Sullivan said the decision by Lynxs will help considerably in the efforts by the Industrial Development Authority (IDA) and other organisations to attract high tech multinational companies especially medical and bio pharmaceutical type facilities into the region.
