The Irish Government has again promised to cover almost half of the bill for work on the A5 cross-border road upgrade.

It is understood that the Dublin government will start contributing to the Londonderry to Aughnacloy road re-vamp. The total cost will be £850m and of this, the Irish government has promised £400m.

The Irish Republic's Department of Transport has already spent £19m on the project.

The plan is for the 55-mile long road from Derry to Aughnacloy to be improved into a high-quality dual-carriageway. That would create a key cross border business route linking Dublin to the North West.

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In Northern Ireland, the SDLP Regional Development Spokesperson, Joe Byrne, has welcomed the news that the Irish Government is fulfilling its commitment to spend on the upgrade.

He said: "This is a major cross-border economic development project and is needed for the future economic success of this region. I urge the Dept for Regional Development (DRD) Minister to conclude his deliberations with moving forward on this project."

The Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny recently said he remains committed to the project and it has emerged funding has already started.

Meanwhile DRD has said that the scale of the A5 project and cuts to the overall road budget means that it may not have the money to start construction on other road schemes. These include the Randalstown to Castledawson section of the A6, the A2 at Greenisland and the widening of the Sydenham bypass.

A DRD spokesperson has said that work to the Randalstown to Dastledawson section of the A6 will not start until 2014 at the earliest, whilst it is unlikely that the other projects will get underway during the 2011-2015 budget period.

(LB/BMcC)