Irish PM turns sod on second stage of North West science project

Taoiseach Enda Kenny TD was welcomed to the Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT) to launch the next phase of the cross-border £12m project funded by the European Union’s INTERREG IVA Programme and comprising of the Northern Ireland Science Park, LYIT and the North West Region Cross Border Group.

While the first stage, the 50,000 sq ft NWRSP facility at Fort George in Londonderry, is due to open late this summer, the LYIT premises are expected to welcome its first tenants in 2015.

The North West Regional Science Park is aimed at extending to the North West the successful science park model currently operating in Belfast’s Titanic Quarter.

The two Science Parks represent a total investment of 15m euro in the North West, with the provision of facilities in both Londonderry and Letterkenny.

The project is coordinated by the North West Region Cross Border Group, a partnership working together to develop the North West Region, comprising the five Councils of Derry, Donegal, Limavady, Strabane and Magherafelt.

Work on the facility in Londonderry (at Fort George, a site on the banks of the River Foyle near the city centre) has already commenced.

The Londonderry building will comprise 50,000 sq. ft. with the Letterkenny development comprising 20,000 sq ft.