Manufacturing & Supply Chain

Among the strategic projects included in the £250 million investment package is the delivery of Centres of Innovation and Research at Ulster University in artificial intelligence and data analytics (CARL) and robotics and automation (CIDRA), together with the key smart/digital City and Region initiatives, as well as the delivery of The School of Medicine at the Magee campus and the creation of a Health Research Institute (HRI) in the city and the expansion of CTRIC at the Altnagelvin Area Hospital site through a pioneering health-innovation project entitled THRIVE.

Key generation projects included in the City Deal include the provision of mixed use civic, health, leisure and educational facilities as part of a major regeneration of Strabane Town Centre, the creation of an interactive maritime attraction and an enhanced walled city tourism experience, as well as major regeneration investment along the riverfront and Queens Quay in Derry, to be closely linked to the expansion of the University. The provision of an integrated, Council-wide, multi-skills employment pathways intervention support programme will be interlinked across all these projects.

The Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Cllr Brian Tierney, said it marked a significant step in the City Deal journey with a commitment from the UK and NI Governments to work collaboratively with partners in the business and academic sectors to deliver a City Deal that will bring about a transformative boost to the region’s economy.

He comments: “It is difficult not to overestimate the importance of the signing of the Heads of Terms today. It means that the projects set out in the City Deal are now able to move to the next stage towards delivery and long-term sustainable growth through what is a very aspiring, create and forward thinking range of innovative projects. Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, through our combined efforts we have been able to continue to make great strides throughout the pandemic on the development of the detail of the outline business cases for the projects. A huge amount of work has been going on behind the scenes over the past number of months to get to this stage of the process. We are delighted to have signed the Heads of Terms to allow us to move on to the delivery phase that will see this Government investment and an additional partner-led investment being rolled out into our region from later this year.

He acknowledged the collaborative approach to securing the City Deal and the joined efforts of the key delivery partners, key stakeholders and, civic and political leaders in getting it over the line.

“A huge amount of work has been done to ensure our City Deal projects align closely with the short term to medium term economic needs of the region. We have already made considerable progress towards our goal of achieving inclusive growth and we believe that the City Deal will allow us to deliver a step change in the implementation of these ambitious plans.”