Additional funding is needed to complete the construction of 'Rise', a new piece of artwork planned for one of Belfast's main arterial routes.

The project needs an additional cash injection over and above the original budget. The sculpture - designed to be built at the Broadway Roundabout - is to cost £60,000 more than planned because of extra safety measures not included in the original budget.

The project, announced a year ago, is funded by Belfast City Council, the Department for Social Development and the National Lottery through the Arts Council of Northern Ireland.

The whole scheme will now cost £500,000 with the construction due to begin in 2010 - a year later than indicated on the original plan.

Belfast City Council is being asked to pay more than half the added bill while the Department of Social Development has agreed to provide another £30,000.

Applications for more funding from the Arts Council and two government departments were refused.

'Rise' - will stand at 123 ft high by 98.4ft wide - and was created to be a main gateway of the city, visible from several miles away.

It will be the final touch to the now completed Westlink multi-million-road improvement programme and will be the biggest public art sculpture in Belfast.

Aimed at making the city more welcoming and modern, the spherical sculpture made with white and silver aluminium is said to represent a new sun rising in order to celebrate a new chapter in the history of the city.

Birmingham artist Wolfgang Buttress (pictured above) was selected from 40 other artists from around the world to create 'Rise' and will be another example of work from the 'New Belfast Community Arts Initiative'.

This programme brings children and artists together to look at plans for new pieces of work and allows them to learn through workshops while they also take part in the artistic process.

See: New Sculpture To 'Rise' At Belfast's Broadway

(CL/BMcC)