Bremore Port group takes on Hutchison as partner

The developer of the Republic's newest deepwater port has hired Asian giant, Hutchison, as a partner on the €300 million project.

Bremore Port Ireland, a joint venture between Drogheda Port and Real Estate Opportunities (REO), the listed vehicle controlled by Treasury Holdings, said yesterday it had hired Hutchison Port Holdings to help develop a master plan for Bremore's proposed deepwater facility.

The project will cost an estimated €300 million. REO said the decision to sign up Hutchison would pave the way for the next phase of the new port's development.

The joint venture company said it hoped to have a full planning application completed within the next 12 months.

Hutchison Port Holdings is the world's leading port investor, developer and operator, with interests in 292 berths in 46 ports spanning 23 countries throughout the world. It owns Hong Kong International Terminals, one of the busiest container facilities in the world, and Felixstowe port in Britain.

The company is part of the Hutchison Whampoa group, whose interests also include telecommunications, property, hotels, retailing and energy.

The group owns the 3 Ireland mobile network, and had a turnover of $34 billion in 2006.

Bremore is in north county Dublin, close to Drogheda port. It is being developed in response to a shortfall in port capacity along the east coast, and will provide an entry and exit point for goods shipped between the Republic, Britain, Scandinavia and the Baltic states.

It will handle 10 million metric tonnes a year.

The partners in the joint venture company are Drogheda Port and Castle Martin Holdings, a wholly-owned REO subsidiary. Treasury Holdings holds 58 per cent of REO.

State-owned Drogheda Port chose REO to develop the Bremore facility last year.

There has been speculation that Bremore will eventually take port activity out of Dublin, but the city's own port authority maintains this is not the case.

However, when developer Liam Carroll last year built up a stake in Irish Continental Group (ICG), owner of Irish Ferries, sources suggested it was to get access to ICG's 33 acres in Dublin Port, as it would eventually be freed up for development.

Mr Carroll's approach is to build up a stake in listed companies to get access to their land banks.