Titanic Belfast Work is well underway on the Titanic Belfast building - with a Ministerial visit having just added a further boost.

Located on the site of the city's former shipyards at Queen's Island, it is scheduled to open its doors to the public in April 2012, marking the centenary of the Titanic's ill-fated voyage.

This project will bring the story of RMS Titanic back home to Belfast, where she and her sister ships were designed and built. It will be a world-class visitor attraction and events venue and will also be a spectacular addition to the Belfast skyline.

Harcourt Construction NI Ltd is behind the construction of the huge building that will be twice the size of Belfast City Hall with construction taking three years overall to complete with 600 workers will be employed at the peak with 50 trucks of concrete were delivered in just one day in December 2009, making it Ireland's largest ever concrete pour.

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Just last week, the NI Tourism Minister Arlene Foster visited Titanic Belfast to see first hand how the building is progressing.

Minister Foster said: "Titanic Belfast will be a unique visitor experience recounting the story of the famous ship through a range of different innovative materials and media. The building overlooks the slipways where the Titanic and her sister ships were originally launched.

"As well as offering cafes, galleries, community arts and education facilities, Titanic Belfast will house the city’s largest banqueting suite which is designed in the luxurious style First Class travellers would have experienced on board the fated ship.

"I have no doubt that it will become Belfast's must see attraction when it opens next April. We are planning a series of events to mark the opening next year to ensure that 2012 will be the year when we place Northern Ireland firmly on the tourist map," she said.

Titanic Belfast will be owned by a charitable trust known as the Titanic Foundation.

Chairman, Jonathan Hegan said: "We are greatly encouraged by the enthusiasm the Minister has shown in this impressive project which continues to make excellent progress."

Conal Harvey, Deputy Chairman of the attraction's operators, Titanic Belfast Ltd, said: "Titanic Belfast will ensure visitors to Northern Ireland will have the opportunity to hear and see at first hand the story of the world's most famous ships, and how Belfast was one of the most innovative cities of the Edwardian era. Likewise, the design and fit-out of the building will use a mix of new interactive technology rarely seen by the public before."

(BMcC/GK)