Funding boost for Waterford North Quays development
Waterford’s €500m North Quays development project has been boosted with a €12.6m allocation towards a sustainable transport bridge and other access infrastructure for the area.
The money is part of a €15,175,000 allocation from the National Transport Authority towards the city’s transport infrastructure.
The balance provides for an extension of the greenway, from Bilberry suburb to the city centre, and other city centre sustainable transport schemes.
The new funding is part of a €100m Government commitment, with further funding anticipated over a three to five-year period.
The new bridge will connect the South Quays to the North Quays development zone, with a new transport hub replacing the North Quays’ Plunkett rail station.
The allocation has restored confidence following last month’s disclosure by Sinn Féin’s David Cullinane that a source “quite close” to investors had revealed “increasing frustration” among the Saudi Arabian investors over the pace of progress.
A future funding tranche will be used to relocate the train station.
The North Quays project is a joint venture, between Waterford City and County Council and a consortium of Saudi Arabian investors, aimed at regenerating the city’s riverside.
Along with the new bridge and relocated rail station, the development will deliver a 220-room hotel and conference centre, 300 apartments, a seven-storey office block, and 50,000sq m of retail and leisure outlets.
More than 2,800 construction jobs, followed by 4,500 vacancies on completion, are forecast.
The scheme marks the largest mixed-use development in the south-east. It is seen as representing a new gateway that will bring major economic enhancement to the entire region.
Investment company Falcon Real Estate Development applied for planning permission to Waterford City and County Council last December, with a decision expected shortly.
Company director Rob Cass says once the “imminent planning” is acquired, a detailed design process can proceed. He anticipates work commencing at the site “early next year”.
