Over 400 participants recently attended an event in Dublin for suppliers in the construction sector to learn how to become part of the supply chain for the €200m Central and East Quads PPP development project at DIT's new education campus in Grangegorman, Dublin 7.

The 'Meet the Buyers' event also gave participants access to representatives from the three shortlisted building consortia to promote their offer in a series of short 5 minute 'pitch meetings', and the opportunity to network with other suppliers with the aim of partnering and maximising the business potential from this major construction and development project.

The event was officially opened by Ged Nash TD, Minister for Business & Employment and was hosted by the National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) and Grangegorman Development Agency (GDA) in partnership with Enterprise Ireland. This is the fourth such event promoting supply chain opportunities organised by the NDFA and Enterprise Ireland, and will be followed by further information and networking events as other projects are rolled out later this year as part of the Government’s PPP Stimulus Package.

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Minister Nash said: "This event provides a real opportunity for small businesses in the construction sector to gain access to key decision makers and construction consortia who are bidding for this flagship project. The high number attending shows the keen interest in this type of initiative. It is encouraging to see the recent Purchasing Managers Index which shows that activity and employment in the construction sector rose for the 11th month in a row showing a strong growth in housing and commercial sectors."

The Grangegorman re-development is a Government project. This phase of DIT’s new campus at Grangegorman will accommodate approximately 11,000 students and staff when completed and occupied in September 2017. Construction has already commenced on the broader campus with work scheduled to begin on the Central and East quads development in 2015. The overall strategic regeneration project at Grangegorman will deliver in the region of 4,500 construction jobs and a further 1,000 when complete.

(CD/IT)