The Cherrywood Science & Technology Park, developed jointly by the property companies Dunloe Ewart and British Land, was officially opened by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, yesterday.

The park, located on a 400-acre site at Cabinteely, Co Dublin, and near the proposed south-eastern section of the Dublin C-ring motorway, is expected to provide more than 7,000 jobs when it is completed at an estimated cost in excess of £400 million (€508 million). Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council is a joint venture partner in the development of the park's first phase. Among the new tenants are Lucent Technologies, which will relocate its GSM software development laboratory and about 450 employees to the new 63,000 sq ft office facility.

The chairman of Dunloe Ewart, Mr Noel Smyth, said a planning application for the next 250,000 sq ft of science park development was due to be lodged.