Plans have been announced for a €400 million natural gas terminal at Tarbert in Co Kerry.
Shannon LNG, an Irish subsidiary of the giant US Hess LNG, has agreed to purchase 280 acres of Shannon Development-owned lands in the Tarbert - Ballylongford area of north Kerry to develop the gas terminal.
Shannon Development has been marketing the site for several years and wanted to attract deep-water projects to the area.
Technical tests will be carried out on the lands over the next year before the application for planning permission, but it is expected construction on the terminal will begin in 2008, to be completed by 2011.
The project will consist of a ship in-loading jetty, two or more liquid natural gas storage tanks and a 30km pipeline connecting the terminal to the national gas grid.
Making the announcement, Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin said the project has the potential to make a real difference to long-term energy costs in Ireland which, he said, are expected to rise by 40% in the coming years.
He said this was a problem for consumers and also for the competitiveness of industry.
