A new cargo container terminal is to be built at Ringaskiddy in Cork Harbour as part of an €80 million investment by the Port of Cork Company.

The company says it will be the most significant investment in marine infrastructure and superstructure in its history.

The new facility will replace the Cork Dockland sites at Tivoli, close to the city, allowing for the future redevelopment of these lands.

The Cork Container Terminal project will see the construction of a 360-metre quay with 13m depth alongside, which will allow larger ships to berth in Ringaskiddy.

The development will also include a new cargo terminal on a 13.5 hectare site, as well as two ship-to-shore gantry cranes and container handling equipment.

Port of Cork Chief Executive Brendan Keating said the development will secure the company's future and bring significant economic benefits to the Munster region, as well as to the national economy.

The project is being funded by AIB, the European Investment Bank, the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund, and with monies from the European Union Connecting Europe Facility funds, as well as its own funds.

The contract for the project has been awarded to BAM Civil Limited, with the terminal due to be operational by 2020.

Meanwhile, the decision on a €180m motorway proposed to run from Cork city to the port village of Ringaskiddy is due by 6 July.

Last month, An Bord Pleanála gave the go-ahead to waste company Indaver for a controversial waste-to-energy facility in Ringaskiddy, which may yet be the subject of a judicial review.