Northern Ireland Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster has been encouraging Ulster businesses to take advantage of the opportunities opened up by London's £14.8bn Crossrail project.

The Minister was visiting Dromore-based Environmental Fabrications in County Down, which has already supplied 300 tonnes of steel to Crossrail.

The development is Europe’s largest infrastructure project and will see a new rail link built across London.

Minister Foster said: "Crossrail is one of the most significant infrastructure projects ever undertaken in the UK and presents huge business opportunities for Northern Ireland companies across a broad range of sectors. My department, through Invest Northern Ireland, is actively working to encourage and assist many more firms, like Environmental Fabrications, to investigate the wide variety of contracts available."

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The Minister was accompanied by Crossrail Chairman Terry Morgan as part of an awareness drive to encourage NI companies to take advantage of the project.

Mr Morgan said: "Building a new railway in London doesn’t just benefit the southeast of England – it supports jobs and creates business opportunities right around the UK, including here in Northern Ireland. There will be billions of pounds worth of contracts coming up over the next few years so it’s vital that firms don’t miss out on the opportunities that Europe’s largest construction project has to offer."

Environmental Fabrications has won four contracts on Crossrail to date. It has fitted gantry cranes, access platforms and handrails to sites in east London and Kent.

Joe Donaldson, Managing Director of Environmental Fabrications in Dromore said: "We learnt about the opportunity through the CompeteFor service which provided helpful guidance and instructions on completing the tender process. Securing this contract with Crossrail has helped us to pick up more work for our workshop here in Dromore and has prompted us to open a new office in the East of England to accommodate our business growth."

(IT/MH)