The Irish property developer who was at the helm of schemes including Dublin's Jervis Street shopping centre and Clarence Hotel, has been awarded a $1bn (€646m) contract in Vietnam.

Paddy McKillen has been given the go-ahead by the Vietnamese government to construct a biotechnology park in the country's capital, Hanoi.

The plans for the scheme have been in circulation since last year, and the eventual project will be the largest of its type in Asia.

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The scheme had been agreed in principle by the government, but only now have the Authorities provided Mr McKillen's Pacific Land a licence to commence the first face of the massive project.

Phase one is expected to cost $250m, and will be called HaBiotech. The total cost, of the entire project, will reach in the region of $1bn.

Mr McKillen has been involved in some of Dublin's most successful retail schemes which include the Jervis Street centre and the Clarence Hotel, part-owned by U2 front men Bono and The Edge.

Vietnam's booming economy has prompted such a huge investment, with additional inward capital expected from blue chip companies, such as Intel, who are planning a $1bn manufacturing plant in the country.

(PR/JM)