Work is set to commence on a new £671m Northern Ireland children's hospital 'in a matter of days', the NI Executive has announced.

With a five-year construction timetable, the 10-floor state-of-the-art facility located within Belfast's Royal Victoria Hospital site is projected to be opened by Belfast Health and Social Care Trust at the beginning of the next decade.

The construction works are valued at £389m, with the overall development projected to cost £671m. The works costs will be spread over the five-year construction period and will be funded from the Department of Health capital budget, rather than the separate budget for day to day health and social care services.

Included in the development will be 155 beds, 10 theatres and an emergency department capable of catering for up to 45,000 children per year. Eighty per cent of the beds will be in single rooms with private ensuite facilities and each ward will benefit from social and play spaces, with parent facilities and separate staff areas.

Discussing the project, First Minister Michelle O'Neill said: "Providing high quality care for our sick and seriously ill children is a priority for this Executive. This is very welcome and long-awaited news for families across the north.

"Once completed the new hospital will provide our children and young people with access to the very best medical treatment as well as improving their overall experience of hospital care. I look forward to work starting on the hospital within the next few days and the significant benefits it will bring to staff and patients."

Deputy First Minister, Emma Little-Pengelly, added: "The state-of-the-art facility, equipped with the latest technology and play spaces, and staffed by dedicated professionals, will ensure that children receive the very best treatment in a nurturing and healing environment."

Meanwhile, Interim Chief Executive of Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, Maureen Edwards, has stated she is "absolutely delighted" that work will soon begin on the new children's hospital.

She said: "I am excited for current staff and for those to come, who will finally have a contemporary hospital building suitable for the needs of the children and the families they care for."