Dublin Airport is getting enough new offices to fit nearly 3,000 workers
A 42,000 sq m development has been cleared by planning officials.
NEW OFFICE SPACE spanning 42,000 square metres will be constructed at Dublin Airport after plans for four extra buildings were cleared by planning officials.
State-owned DAA, which runs the airport, applied for permission to demolish buildings to the north of Terminal 2 and surrounding the former Aer Lingus head office. That complex has been occupied by ESB International in recent months.
The proposal, which An Bord Pleanála approved by a two-to-one majority, includes four six- and seven-story office buildings on the site as well as a 742-space multistorey car park, a pavilion cafe and a raised pedestrian link to the Terminal 2 car park.
A maximum of 400 workers are expected to be needed at the site during the construction phase, while the completed offices will have space for an estimated 2,838 staff. DAA said the plan could “contribute €1.3 billion annually to national output”.
The development was sent to the planning board after the Irish Airline Pilots Association objected to Fingal County Council’s original approval.
Work is expected to begin on the first two buildings this summer with completion expected next year.
DAA has also issued a tender to build a new hotel, expected to be the fourth-largest in Ireland with more than 400 beds, near Terminal 2. The facility is expected to open its doors in 2019.
The developments follow record passenger numbers at Dublin Airport last year, when nearly 28 million people passed through - up 11% on the 2015 tally.
DAA plans to build a second runway by 2020 at a projected cost of €320 million, while a third terminal is also potentially in the pipeline.
Reporting by Paul Hosford and Peter Bodkin.
