Minister Charlie McConalogue visited Ros a Mhíl today to mark the beginning of construction on the new €30 million Deep Water Quay at the harbour.
The 200m long quay at the Fishery Harbour Centre is being built to accommodate larger fishing vessels at the Connemara port, as well as providing more space overall.
At present Ros an Mhíl Fishery Harbour Centre has 325 metres of quayside but is limited in deep water to a maximum of -5.8 metres chart datum and experiences congestion in busy fishing seasons.
While primarily benefitting fishing vessels, the new quay will also be available to large vessels such as Irish Navy fleet, Marine Institute Research Vessels, marine survey vessels and marine leisure craft.
Welcoming the commencement of the works, the Minister said “I’m delighted to be here today to mark the start of the works on the Deep-Water quay project.”
“In this case, we are ‘making ground’ rather than breaking it, to add 200 metres of quayside to this facility so we can accommodate larger fishing vessels and attract additional landings from both Irish and non-Irish fishing vessels.“
In 2021, almost 90% of all fish landed into Ireland was into the six State-owned Fishery Harbour Centres. At Ros an Mhíl, these landings were valued at c.€15.9 million.
Work began on the project in late January, and it is expected that the Deep Water Quay will be built by December of 2024.
“With this investment, this government is recognising Ros an Mhíl Fishery Harbour Centre as an economic hub with potential for downstream development and job creation in this region,” Minister McConalogue said.
“It is fitting that a local company, Ward and Burke Construction Ltd, is undertaking the works and I have every confidence that other local businesses will seize the opportunities provided by this development in time.”
