Work on the National Convention Centre in Dublin's docklands is to due begin in October and the centre will open for business on January 1st, 2001, following formal Cabinet approval. The construction phase is expected to provide employment for 1,000 people.
A spokesman for the Minister for Tourism, Dr McDaid, said last night that he expected the necessary formalities to be completed in time for the project to qualify for £25 million from the current tranche of EU funding.
The 3,000-seat conference centre will cost £80 million, but the overall development, which will include hotels, shops and apartments, will cost over £700 million and take between seven and 10 years to complete. The centre will be constructed by the Spencer Dock International group, controlled by property development company Treasury Holdings and businessman Mr Harry Crosbie.
In a statement last night, Spencer Dock said that the centre would be one of the most important complexes ever built in Dublin. The company expressed relief that the controversy which had dogged the project for almost a decade was now at an end.
The project requires formal Cabinet approval and an EU cost-benefit analysis has yet to be completed. It also needs planning permission, although this is not expected to pose a problem.
Dr McDaid was informed yesterday by the Independent Management Board for Product Development that Spencer Dock International had been approved for the tender.
The way has now been cleared for the granting of approximately £25 million under the Operational Programme for Tourism.
The decision to approve Spencer Dock will significantly benefit CIE, which is to retain its freehold to the site and receive ongoing income from it. This revenue will go towards the company's £500 million investment programme for updating its rail and bus network. The development will also add significantly to the value and attractiveness of other land owned by CIE in the north docks.
A significant number of the workers who will be employed on the project will be locals, according to Spencer Dock, which estimates that "several hundred people will be employed" when the centre is operational.
The announcement brings to an end lengthy speculation and controversy about the development. A member of the Spencer Dock team said last night that the various setbacks to the project had been "nerve-wracking". The tender was contested by five bidders in a competition run on behalf of the Independent Management Board by Bord Failte.
Hailed by Dr McDaid as a "flagship project" which will further enhance the tourism industry's efforts to exploit the full potential of the international conference market, the new centre will be situated on the north bank of the River Liffey between the Point Depot and the new Jurys Hotel. It is adjacent to the Financial Services Centre. The site will be served by a rail link from nearby Connolly Station.