Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins has welcomed an additional £16.8 million in capital funding aimed at accelerating investment in Northern Ireland's essential infrastructure.

The Department for Infrastructure has confirmed that the largest portion of the funding, £7.85 million, will be dedicated to targeted road maintenance. Furthermore, NI Water and Translink will each receive an allocation of £3.18 million to support their respective networks. Minister Kimmins highlighted that recent weather conditions have underscored the necessity of maintaining robust infrastructure: "I have repeatedly said that infrastructure lies at the very heart of everything we do in the North, and the importance of the infrastructure my department maintains has once again been highlighted by the effects of recent weather events on our road network and river levels.

"I welcome confirmation of the allocation of £16.8m capital from the Finance Minister, which will allow for further investment in vital infrastructure including our road network.

"As a department with responsibility for the maintenance, development and planning of critical infrastructure, additional investment such as this is always helpful, especially as it will now allow for targeted road maintenance is to be rolled out in the coming weeks.

"We are operating amidst a legacy of underfunding from the British Government but, despite that, we will continue maximise the budget we have to deliver positive change for people right across the North."

The additional investment is expected to facilitate immediate improvements, with the targeted road maintenance scheduled to begin in the coming weeks.