The Irish Times

Original Terminal

Opposition from heritage campaigners to use of the old central terminal building at Dublin Airport is set to add an additional €7 million to the cost of the Pier D facility. The Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) is attempting to have the new €100 million Pier D facility completed by a Government deadline of October 2007. In order to meet this deadline the authority was hoping to gain access through the old central terminal building (OCTB), but this would involved structural changes to what is a protected structure of national importance. The Pier D facility was scheduled to cost about €100 million, but the problems with access through the OCTB could push this figure higher. The DAA is facing a number of financial pressures at the airport. Its plans for a second terminal have had to be revisited after airlines indicated they wanted a 50 per cent increase in the size of the facility. The authority is also under pressure to pay for all the new infrastructure, which is going to cost €1.2 billion. So far the aviation regulator has only permitted the company to levy a €6.14 per passenger charge. The DAA says this is not enough to fund all the developments planned. The architect of the old central terminal building was Desmond FitzGerald. The curved building was designed to echo the lines of the bridge of a great ocean liner and won many architectural design awards.