Cork Corporation has been given permission for a £56 million sewage treatment plant at Carrigrennan in Cork harbour, the final phase of the city's £200 million main drainage scheme, the largest such project yet undertaken in the State.
The Department of the Environment and Local Government announced yesterday that approval had been granted to a joint venture consortium involving two Irish companies, P. J. Hegarty and Sons as well as the Mallow-based pumping specialists EPS and Degremont Ltd, Dumez GTM and Northumbrian Lyonnaise International.
The plant will incorporate the most advanced technology available for sewage treatment and holds out the prospect of a clean River Lee after years of pollution which reduced it in some parts almost to an open sewer.
Under the new main drainage scheme all the city's domestic waste will be piped to the lower harbour area and treated at Carrigrennan.
Solid matter will be turned into fertiliser pellets and after further treatment, the harmless water residue will be disposed of at sea.
Cork Corporation says the overall scheme should see a return of valuable salmon stocks in greater numbers to the River Lee and water quality which would enable the people of Cork to use the river once more as a natural amenity.
The construction of the plant will begin within the next few months and will take approximately 30 months to complete. Hundreds of construction jobs will be created and it is expected that up to £2 million a month will be generated in the local economy as a result.
Welcoming the announcement last night, the Cork city manager, Mr Joe Gavin, said the project would not have become a reality without funding from the European Union and the Department of the Environment and Local Government. As the final phase in the Cork main drainage scheme it would amount to the largest civil engineering project of its type when coupled with the Lee tunnel.
The sewage treatment plant, first proposed some years ago, has been the subject of intense debate in Cork with the local Carrigrennan community objecting to it on health and environmental grounds.
However, following a public inquiry, planning permission for the project was upheld by An Bord Pleanala, and Cork Corporation has promised that the plant will operate to the highest known environmental standards and that it will pose no risk to public health or safety.
Once the construction phase has been completed, the Carrigrennan site will be extensively landscaped and planted and provision will be made for public parks and a coastal amenity walk.
A proposed £50 million project to construct Galway's tallest building was announced yesterday, writes Ciaran Tierney in Galway.
The project would involve the construction of a 25-storey hotel and heritage centre on the seafront in Salthill.
The development would include a high-rise observation tower and a diaspora and information centre, as well as a revolving restaurant and a hotel.
It is envisaged that the development will include a heritage park and the provision of a 1,000 space car-park on two floors.
The development, which has the backing of local and American-based investors, involves reclaiming over five acres from the sea and is due to go before Galway Corporation within the next few months.