Dublin Airport Authority is spending €14 million on doubling the size of its Terminal Two short-term car park on the back of growing customer demand.

Work has started on the upgrade, which will add four floors and 1,400 spaces to the multi-storey car park.

The airport management company said that the extra spaces are needed to cope with the significant growth in traffic at Dublin Airport over the last three years, and in particular to meet demand for short-term car parking at Terminal Two.

Passenger numbers at the airport increased by 8 per cent to 21.7 million last year and are up 16 per cent overall since 2011. In the first quarter of this year, passenger numbers rose 17 per cent to 4.7 million.

Dublin Airport managing director Vincent Harrison said the project is a major investment in extra customer car parking.

“We are expecting another year of passenger growth in 2015 and this increase in car park capacity means more customers will be able to park conveniently close to Terminal Two,” he said.

Business travellers are the main users of the car park and demand is highest between September and April. As a result building work will be carried out during the summer. Balfour Beatty is the main contractor.

The 1,400 extra spaces will be handed over on a phased basis and work will finish in December.