SOUTH Derry construction group Heron Bros has been awarded the £45 million contract for the new £45m Northern Regional College (NRC) campus in Ballymena.
The Draperstown-based company is already on site for the new £40m campus in Coleraine, following the issue of an official construction notice in October 2021.
Heron has now won the bid to become lead contractor on the sister development in Ballymena.
Located at Farm Lodge, the new campus will see teaching at the college’s existing sites at Farm Lodge, Trostan Avenue and the Lamont Building in the town consolidated onto one modern 190,000 sq ft campus.
Initial preparatory work is expected to begin this month, with construction onsite commencing in June 2022. The new campus is due to be operational for the start of term in September 2024 with all works, including the new car park, fully complete for December 2024.
Economy minister Gordon Lyons said around 150 new construction jobs are expected to be created by the project, with a further 300 sustained during the building phase.
He said around 1,350 weeks of employment and training will also be provided through traineeships, apprenticeships and higher level apprenticeships (HLAs) across a range of construction-related trades.
Describing the plans for the new college as “world-class”, the minister said: “The new campus will consolidate teaching onto one site of more than 17,600m2 in Ballymena, to deliver an even better learning experience for students.
“This £45m project, fully funded by my department, is part of a wider £85m investment in Northern Regional College to include the redevelopment of its Coleraine campus.”
Principal and chief executive of the college, Mel Higgins, said: “Having made such fantastic progress on our new Coleraine campus in recent months, we are excited to take this important step forward in the plans for our new Ballymena campus and look forward to working with Heron Bros Ltd on the project.
“I would like to extend the college’s thanks to the Department for the Economy for their continued investment in our estate as we seek to deliver the aims and objectives of its 10X Economic Vision.
He continued: “The appointment of Heron Bros Ltd takes us a step closer to realising our ambitious vision to create a world-class learning environment for our students across two state-of-the-art campuses, equipping them with the skills to enter the workforce, making Northern Ireland a more productive economy, and to further enhance our ability to welcome and serve our local communities in Ballymena and Coleraine.”
