Economists weigh up the 'Celtic banana'

Proposals for a "Celtic banana mega-city", based on the expansion of the Dublin-Belfast economic corridor via a sea-bridge to Glasgow and Edinburgh, are to be put to economists this morning.

The Celtic banana mega-city - a name which refers to the shape of such an economic region rather than anything else - will be debated at the Dublin-Belfast Corridor 2025 conference, in Newry.

Mega-cities are multi-centred development areas characterised by distinct metropolitan areas, linked by excellent transport systems, but separated by greenbelts. They have complementary economies which perform better together than they would do separately. This morning's conference, organised by the Urban Institute Ireland, will hear that the Celtic banana mega-city region of six or seven million people may take until 2050 to be developed. But it is possibly the only region on the island where the potential excellent transport links could materialise. Such links would include a high-speed railway line, a "stopping" rail line, a parallel motorway and local roads with various interchanges.

The advantage of Dublin/Belfast is that much of this is under way while the axis also enjoys three international airports and good seaports. The conference will also be asked if much of the growth and investment in Ireland, North and South, should be along the east coast between Belfast and Dublin, or spread equally around Ireland in the midlands, west, south and north-west.