24 October 2003

Victoria Square complex receives go-ahead

The Department for Social Development (DSD) today confirmed that Dutch-owned developer, AM Development UK Ltd is to redevelop the Victoria Square site in Belfast.

The site, which is expected to generate a turnover of £300 million a year, will provide retail and office space as well as apartments, leisure facilities (including restaurants and a fitness club), and underground parking for 1,000 cars. At its centre is a square and gardens, open to the public 24 hours a day.

Work on the Victoria Square project is scheduled to start at the end of this year, with a completion date of 2007. Around 3,000 jobs will be created during construction process with a further 3,000 permanent jobs when the centre opens.

Commenting on the project, Paul Sargent, Managing Director of AM Development in the UK, said: "Victoria Square will rejuvenate the whole of Belfast city centre and make the city centre what it should be: a place to live, work, rest and play.

"The scheme will tie Laganside, the riverside regeneration project, into the heart of the city’s shopping district and make Belfast one of the great cities of Europe."

AM NV (Amstelland MDC) specialises in city centre, shopping centre, housing and office development.

The Victoria Square project is set to become the largest project in the company’s history.

(MB)