07/04/2009

£44m Contract Signed For Belfast College

Last week's gloom over engineering job losses in Northern Ireland was lightened on Monday with news that the £44m educational building contract had been signed.

Belfast Metropolitan College's (BMC) new multi-million pound city centre campus will be located in the Titanic Quarter in east Belfast.

It will open in August 2011 and replace the college's buildings in both Brunswick Street and College Square East. A total of 2,500 students will be accommodated in the new premises, which are being constructed by a property development consortium, Ivywood Colleges.

East Belfast DUP MLA, and Deputy Chair of the Assembly's Employment and Learning Committee, Robin Newton (pictured here) joined the NI Employment and Learning Minister Sir Reg Empey in welcoming the project.

Mr Newton said: "The building of the brand new BMC campus in the Titanic Quarter will act like an anchor tenant type project, help boost the confidence of investors and encourage additional prospective developers.

"At a time when the economy is reeling from job losses this long awaited decision is a welcome one.

"The building work will create several hundred skilled construction jobs with longer term jobs following on within the new building," said the East Belfast politician.

Executive Minister Sir Reg Empey agreed that it would "give a boost to our construction industry".

He added: "In these difficult times, where training is at an all time premium, this will undoubtedly be a positive step forward in encouraging people to follow the route into lifelong learning."

For the college itself, Dr Raymond Mullan, the interim Director and Chief Executive, said: "This is a timely and necessary development which will provide state-of-the-art teaching and learning facilities for our students and employers and enable Belfast Metropolitan College to enhance its leading role in the growth of the local skills base and the Northern Ireland economy."

Both the Brunswick Street and College Square East properties will be sold on the open market when the new campus opens.

(BMcC/JM)

Related Northern Ireland News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

02 March 2018
Schools Closures Across NI
The Department of Education have published a list of all schools across that have confirmed they will be closed today, Friday 2nd March, 2018 due to the adverse weather conditions.
22 January 2013
Heavy Snow Closes Over 80 Schools
Over 80 schools across Northern Ireland have been closed as the heavy snow continues to cause disruption on Tuesday morning. The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning, as the snow is continuing to affect many roads. Areas which have been majorly disrupted include Lisburn, Castlereagh and Carryduff.
01 August 2007
NI Further Education Colleges Merge
The 16 further education colleges across Northern Ireland have merged to create six new ‘super colleges’. The merger of the colleges to six area based colleges is the first major aspect of the Government’s FE Means Business strategy to be implemented and will see widespread changes to what further education colleges do and how they do it.
16 September 2022
NI Pupils Experiencing Vintage Computing Technology
School pupils across NI are getting to experience vintage computing technology with a series of demonstrations from The CODE Show roadshow museum.
23 May 2014
Man Released On Bail Over College Stabbing Incident
A man, 20, who was arrested in connection with a stabbing at a college in Belfast has been released on bail. Police said the man was released pending further enquiries. A 26-year-old is currently in hospital following the incident at Belfast Metropolitan College on Thursday. His condition is described as serious but stable.