There is increasing speculation that the board of the Dublin Airport Authority will formally recommend to the Government that it proceed with construction of the Pier D extension at Dublin Airport.
Last week, the DAA advertised in the official European journal that it might be seeking tenders to construct the extension to alleviate congestion at the current terminal. Proposals for a full second terminal at the airport are expected to be discussed at the next cabinet meeting on March 22.
Some years ago, Aer Rianta proposed building Pier D - a relatively low cost extension to the current terminal which would have relieved some of the congestion until a second terminal was built.
But former Transport Minister Seamus Brennan told Aer Rianta not to go ahead with Pier D - a decision which forced the airport authority to write off around €3m in preparatory costs.
Last week it emerged that substantive proposals on a second terminal at Dublin Airport are to be brought to cabinet tomorrow week, with decisions promised over the Easter period. But now it seems that Pier D is also back on the agenda.
A number of sources say that Pier D could be constructed more quickly than a fully fledged terminal, and is the quickest way to supply much needed additional capacity.
