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Dublin Airport is advancing plans for what will be Ireland's fourth biggest hotel.

Planning permission has already been granted for the 402-bedroom, eleven-storey property beside Terminal Two.

The airport hopes construction will begin next October, with the four-star hotel opening in 2019.

It has appointed consultants Savills to seek expressions of interest for the development and operation of the hotel.

The successful bidder will construct the hotel and operate it for a specified period of time, before transferring it back to Dublin Airport Authority at the end of that term.

The airport says the project will support 400 jobs - 150 of them during the construction phase.

"There is significant demand for a new terminal-linked hotel at Dublin Airport," said the airport's Managing Director Vincent Harrison.

"It will also provide much needed additional hotel capacity for the entire Dublin region."

Dublin airport is the fastest growing major airport in Europe.