LIFT OFF

Terminal 2 gets go-ahead, but airport chiefs face race against time to beat the 2009 deadline

by Paul Melia and Brian Dowling - Irish Independent 26 Oct 2006

DUBLIN Airport Authority faces a race against time to build a €600m second terminal by 2009, the year the existing facilities run out of space.

The authority yesterday got the green light to build the new terminal, but planning chiefs have attached 43 conditions which could make it impossible to meet the deadline.

And further delays will occur because Ryanair and businessman Ulick McEvaddy, both of whom have proposed building an independent terminal, as well as local residents have all vowed to appeal the decision to An Bord Pleanala which could take up to six months to reach a verdict.

This week DAA Chief Executive Declan Collier warned it would have to turn away flights coming into Ireland if the terminal was not built on time.

Airport sources last night said there "wasn't a hope in the world" of getting the terminal built and operational by 2009.

Last night there were calls to abandon the T2 terminal project and build a second airport to serve the capital.

Local TD Jim Glennon said he repeatedly called for a new airport to be built at Gormonstown in Co Meath, as the state owned 250 acres of land formerly used by the Air Corp as an airfield and there was still a disused runway there.

The outgoing Fianna Fail deputy said the location would be suited to the development of a small, second airport as it was strategically placed between the M1, the main Dublin-Belfast rail line and the new port being developed at Bremore. But he said there was "no willingness to even commission a feasibility study" for the site by Government.

Local residents opposed to the project said the development of the new
terminal would lead to traffic chaos.

Opposition politicians warned some of the conditions would delay the project even further.

These include a requirement that major works to the M50 and Ballymun
interchange be completed before the terminal opens, while working hours are restricted to just 65 hours a week.

Fine Gael transport spokeswoman Olivia Mitchell described the restrictions on working hours as "lunacy". "Dublin Airport is already at near-maximum capacity and any further delays will do the country serious damage," she said.

Labour Party's Roisin Shortall said the requirement that the terminal can only open once the M50 upgrade was finished was "completely unrealistic".

"Given that phases two and three of the upgrade, the sections closest to Dublin Airport, have yet to commence, we could be waiting well beyond 2009 for the terminal to open to the public," she warned.

The DAA propose building a €609m terminal capable of handling up to 15m
passengers a year, which will, increase the overall capacity of the airport to 35m. The 75,000 square metre terminal will include an improved internal road network, a major utilities upgrade and include a site for the Metro North.

It also incorporates a new 24,000 square metre pier building - Pier E - which will have up to 20 aircraft boarding stands and will be linked to the existing terminal - designed to handle about 10m passengers a year but currently coping with twice that - by a walkway.The 10-year planning permission includes the potential to extend to 90,000 square metres.

The DAA hoped to begin work in the second quarter of next year with a view to opening in Autumn 2009, but could be forced to review the timetable.

Ryanair chief executive Michael O'Leary said he intended fighting the second terminal all the way to the courts if required.

"We will fight any plan to build a terminal which should cost €250m. We will appeal it to An Bord Pleanala, and if that doesn't succeed well seek a judicial review," he said last night.

And members of the UPROAR group - Portmarnock residents opposed to further development of the airport - asked why a second airport couldn't be built for the capital.

"We are opposed to the terminal because it will double the capacity of the airport," spokesman Seamus Horan said. "There is an appeal going into An Bord Pleanala, but why isn't Baldonnell considered as a second airport?

"There was no consideration given to building a second airport for Dublin. We have no problem with sustainable development, but we believe the second terminal is not just to alleviate congestion, but to facilitate the trebling of passenger numbers."

Businessman Ulick McEvaddy, who has lodged a complaint with the Competition Authority over the Government's refusal to let him build an independent terminal, said he would appeal the decision.

"I think the most interesting condition was the appointment of a bat expert. He should be first on the scene to control the batty management who are doing this in the first place," he said.

"We will be appealing this, but if we're the only objectors we will withdraw. We can build a terminal to cater for 35m passengers, for less than €750m."

Last night DAA Chief Executive Declan Collier said he was 'delighted' that the 'first hurdle' had been overcome adding that the authority was ready to deliver by 2009.

But he added: "The planning process in Ireland is a democratic one and stakeholders are entitled to their views on infrastructure development. But we hope that if there are appeals to this decision, the appeal process moves ahead as swiftly as possible in the interests of all the users of Dublin Airport."