A new £35million campus for Southern Regional College in Armagh has officially opened.

The project, fully funded by the Department for the Economy, involved demolition of the old building and construction of a new, purpose-built facility on the existing Lonsdale Road site.

Economy Minister Diane Dodds said: "I am delighted to see these hugely impressive student facilities which have been fitted out with the very latest technology and equipment. Students and staff will be rightly proud to be part of this transformative project and I commend the college and contractors for achieving such a fantastic outcome.

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"I am particularly pleased that this investment has strengthened the college’s science, technology, engineering and mathematics provision in line with current and future economic and employer needs, both locally and regionally.

"My 10X Economy economic vision sets out how we will prepare a future generation of workers to respond flexibly to skills shortages and drive economic growth and Northern Ireland’s further education colleges have an important role to play in rebuilding our economy and investing in skills is key to Northern Ireland’s future success"

The new campus, designed by Kennedy Fitzgerald Architects Ltd, managed by Tetra Tech Consulting NI and built by Newry-based contractor Felix O’Hare Ltd, saw the creation of more than 200 jobs during its construction.

The college’s Project Team was supported by the Project Board and SRC’s Board of Governors. This, alongside the work of the design and construction teams, resulted in the new campus being delivered within budget and ahead of the projected programme.