Northern Ireland Economy Minister Nigel Dodds yesterday launched the development of the £6.25 million business facility at the Northern Ireland Science Park (NISP).

The Concourse development, which consists of three inter-linked buildings, will provide over 210,000 sq ft of hi-tech, flexible workspace for emerging local, as well as international and innovation-based businesses.

Work will now begin to construct Building One, which is due for completion in August 2008. The Concourse complex represents a total investment of more than £20m.

Speaking at the opening, the Minister said: "Northern Ireland has a proud tradition of engineering and innovation excellence and I am confident that we can once again emerge as a centre for excellence in the global knowledge economy.

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"Government funding of £4.2m in the Concourse brings the total investment to date in the Northern Ireland Science Park, to £25m."

Following the sod-cutting ceremony at the Concourse site, NISP Chairman Franklin Adair said: "This additional space clearly shows that our model of nurturing and supporting local businesses translates into tangible growth. We want local businesses to benefit from our mentoring programmes and to grow larger within our Concourse space alongside big-name companies.

"The infrastructure and facilities here are second to none it sends a clear message to the business community that we want to nurture and accommodate value-added, innovation-led ventures. Our bespoke hi-tech, flexible workspace offers a great environment to support our ICT, life science, engineering and biotech sectors."

The development is scheduled for completion in summer 2010, at which point the Northern Ireland Science Park will boast over 400,000 sq ft of office space following a total investment of £73m.

(VB/JM)