FIVE councils behind the Belfast Region City Deal (BRCD) have launched a portfolio of real estate development opportunities in a bid to entice global investment.
The Belfast Region Investment Guide has identified 27 sites it states are suitable for industrial, logistics, regeneration, or tourism development.
The list includes Belfast International Airport, North Street in Newry and the Port of Larne.
The sites have been selected by Antrim and Newtownabbey; Ards and North Down; Mid and East Antrim; Newry, Mourne and Down; and Lisburn and Castlereagh City councils.
Also making the list is Hillsborough, identified as a destination with a focus on tourism growth; the former Downpatrick Police Station; the former Crepe Weavers site in Newtownards; the St Patrick’s Barracks site in Ballymena; and Whitespots Country Park.
The five councils are included in the region deal which will involve a package of £700 million from London and Stormont, with contributions from other stakeholders and the private sector potentially taking the overall package to around £1 billion.
The councils anticipate the new guide will be used to market the real estate opportunities to private developers and investors, both locally and overseas.
Stephen Reid, chief executive of Ards and North Down Borough Council described the guide as a crucial tool to sell the investment opportunities to a global audience.
“As a whole, the sites on offer make a compelling proposition and we expect to pique the interest of investors from all quarters,” he said.
“Many of these are iconic sites with significant potential to offering a solid return and will prove transformational for the economies and communities within which they sit.”
