The prospect of an unprecedented 810K SF commercial property opportunity landed unexpectedly at Dublin Airport this week.

Transport Minister Shane Ross said that Terminal 3 at Dublin airport need not necessarily be public-sector owned.

The statement underlined previous hints that a private-sector Terminal could be on the government's agenda.

"The possibility of a third terminal in Dublin, not necessarily State-owned, should not be ruled out," Ross said, the Irish Independent reports.

If the Terminal was equivalent to the new Terminal 2, completed in 2010, it would total around 810K SF with capicity for 15 million passengers.

Some kind of design, build and operate contract is regarded as the most likely route to procure one of the largest private-sector developments seen for a public-sector client.

But don't get too excited. The downside is that even robust passenger growth at Dublin airport is unlikely to make Terminal 3 necessary in the immediate future. It could be as late as 2038 before passenger numbers breach the 55 million a year required to exhaust existing capacity, meaning new development proposals are at least 10 years away.

Today airport passenger numbers hover a little short of 30 million.