Government remains committed to North Quays project

Government remains committed to North Quays project

The government remains committed to the North Quays project. It was confirmed yesterday that Waterford City and County Council has to date allocated 67 million euros to the development, with a further 130-150 million euros over the coming years.

Previous setbacks over the past decade have caused concern among the public after the council terminated the contract with Saudi-backed developers over funding concerns.

Since then, Harcourt developers have committed to the works on the North Quays, with the SOD turned on the project earlier this year.

Local councillor Eamon Quinlan was present at yesterday's Plenary meeting of Waterford City and County Council where the figures were confirmed to the chamber.

Councillor Quinlan said, "The government is committed to approximately 180 million of government money towards the project. It was broken down pretty well. Essentially there are several different government departments funding this project overall.

"The enabling works that are currently underway are the raising of the new bridge from the clock tower to the North Quays. The bridge forms part of a transport infrastructure being funded by the Department of Transport. They are contributing approximately 50 million euros.

Harcourt Developments based in Dublin has a track record in regenerating waterfront sites, including the Titanic Quarter in Belfast and Stanley Dock regeneration in Liverpool.

Included in the company’s portfolio are Park West Plaza in Dublin and shopping centers in Galway, Donaghmede, Letterkenny, and Limerick.

North Quays vision

Eamon Quinlan told WLR News that the Head of Finance for Waterford City and County Council confirmed the amounts given to the project to date to councillors yesterday.

"The head of the finance department Mr. Bernard Pollard came back and confirmed that to date Waterford City and County Council has spent 67 million euros on the North Quays project.

"Of that 29 million has been spent in this year to date from January to September 2023. He also advised that things are only going to get going from here on the North Quays project.

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