Convention centre project expected to get green light

The Treasury Holdings project for Dublin's docklands is understood to have been recommended by Bord Failte as the one which should be chosen by the Government for the new national convention centre.

The decision is likely to be approved by an independent board on Monday and will then be forwarded to the Government.

The long-running saga has been delayed by a lengthy decision-making process, but last night the board of Bord Failte, acting on the recommendation of a group of experts, is understood to have backed the Treasury project. Under the plan, the £70 million development would be built on CIE land on Dublin's quays between the Point Depot and Dublin Port.

The Treasury consortium was recommended previously to the independent management board for product development, a group of business people charged by the Government with making the decision. However, the board did not feel that the project met all the criteria.

With legal challenges threatening, Bord Failte then decided that the entire process should be subject to a further review by a new group of experts. This body met all the groups which had applied to build the centre to clarify which could meet the criteria set down by the Government, which itself wants to ensure that the centre qualifies for EU funding.

This expert group submitted a report to the Bord Failte board, which met last night. In a statement afterwards, Bord Failte said that it had decided to present the full report of the expert group "and a clear recommendation" to the management board for product development, which is to meet again next Monday.

This is seen as a clear indication that the Bord Failte board, chaired by Mr Mark Mortell, believes that the board should make a clear decision and forward it to the Government.

The Treasury consortium is headed by the property company run by Mr John Ronan and Mr Richard Barrett. Its scheme for the Spencer Dock site was designed by an Irish-American architect, Mr Kevin Roche. Mr Harry Crosbie, the owner of the Point Depot, is also involved in the consortium.

The project will involve total spending of some £70 million, supplemented by about £25 million of EU funding.

The plan for the 40-acre site - currently owned by CIE and used mainly as a railway yard - includes the convention centre, two hotels, 1.3 million square feet of office space, one million square feet of apartments and 140,000 square feet of retail and leisure facilities. It would transform the area adjacent to the Point Depot and to the north of the East Link bridge with a futuristic project based around the new convention centre, designed to attract year-round business and boost tourism. The deal would also provide a financial boost for CIE, which would retain freehold title to the site.

There were five applicants to build the centre, but the original group established by Bord Failte to assess the proposals scored the Treasury plan well ahead of the others. The other consortiums included the RDS, the Office of Public Works project for Infirmary Road, the Sonas project for the old Phoenix Park racecourse site and the Anna Livia project for the Grand Canal Docks site.