A newly-built, £2.9 million, five-storey office block in east Belfast has been heralded as the key to helping stimulate economic growth in the local area.

Economy Minister Arlene Foster (pictured with, from left, Mervyn Hempton, Chairman, East Belfast Enterprises Ltd, Denis Rooney, Chairman, International Fund for Ireland, and NI First Minister Peter Robinson), was on hand to lay the final brick at a special 'topping out' ceremony at the CityEast development, which will offer accommodation for up to 90 jobs.

The new offices are sited near the junction of Newtownards Road, Middlepath Street and Short Strand (the former Kwikfit site).

The 25,000 square foot building, due to open in Spring 2009, was developed by East Belfast Enterprise (EBE) and funded with EU Peace and Reconciliation funds, provided through the Department of Enterprise Trade and Investment (DETI) and the International Fund for Ireland (IFI).

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Arlene Foster said: "The £2.9 million CityEast development can help stimulate economic growth in a part of the city that was once the industrial heartland of Northern Ireland.

"The creation of 68 new hi-spec workspace units in East Belfast can have a regenerating impact in the area, providing the potential for the creation of 90 jobs, as well as encouraging local entrepreneurship."

Known as the 'Gateway to the East', the 'CityEast' structure stands in the shadow of the iconic Harland and Wolff cranes, Sampson and Goliath, which dominate the Belfast skyline.

Denis Rooney, Chairman of the International Fund for Ireland, said: "The fund's aim is to create the conditions where businesses can flourish and this project, with the potential to provide up to 90 jobs, is a perfect example of this.

"I'd like to acknowledge the generous support of our international donors, the United States, the European Union, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, without whom we could not continue to fund projects like this.

"The new premises will have an enormously positive impact on the economic regeneration in this area and I look forward to the official opening of this building next Spring."

Speaking at the ceremony EBE Chairman, Mervyn Hempton, said: "The completion of this impressive new five-storey office block in the shadow of the shipyard will herald the economic rebirth of east Belfast.

"This development presents an opportunity to transform the Lower Newtownards Road into the economic hub of the city. We believe that a positive new future is about to emerge."

(PR/JM)