Dublin Chamber of Commerce has welcomed Metro North construction, as they are assured that it will be business as usual for all companies operating in the vicinity of the works by the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA).

The RPA has announced that work on Metro North will begin in April 2011.

The RPA have set out detailed proposals for delivering its commitment to keeping the Dublin City Region open for business during the construction of Metro North.

"The public transport system in the Dublin City Region is inadequate," said Gina Quin, Dublin Chamber Chief Executive. "The construction of Metro North is essential to tackling the transport deficit in order to attract new business and make Dublin a better city to live and work."

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Dublin Chamber has spent the past two years working with the RPA, Dublin City Council, other transport agencies as well as the Minister for Transport to minimise the disruption to business and in facilitating meetings with the RPA. "There has been significant work done to-date to minimise the impact of construction on businesses," said Ms Quin. "The biggest challenge is communicating to tourists and shoppers that this will be the case. People want to know that their city will remain theirs during construction and will be better for them because of this project.

"Dublin's traffic congestion has cost business billions and jobs coming to Ireland. The public transport story as it stands focuses on the problem of getting people from A to B. But i''s more than that. It's also about protecting our environment and creating clusters of industries or businesses. Projects like Metro North and the Luas are vital, not just to move people around more efficiently, but to stimulate economic growth as well. Dublin competes against other international regions to attract investment and companies to establish here. Failing to address our sub-standard transport infrastructure with the proper capital investment will only benefit our competitors. The delivery of Metro North is essential to Dublin in attracting international business."

(CD/GK)