Laganside Corporation, the public-funded company that redevelops derelict areas of Belfast, has secured a record £100 million sterling (€161 million) of new investment for the current financial year.
The company, which has been the catalyst for the multimillion pound transformation of the land bank that runs alongside the River Lagan, is set to roll out the next phase of its city regeneration programme.
Since it was established 12 years ago, Laganside Corporation has changed dramatically the shape of the Belfast skyline. Laganside's brief was to transform a 500-acre stretch of land that boasted some of the most polluted waterways in Europe into a rejuvenated location for investment.
Together with developers such as Dunloe Ewart, the property company, it has succeeded in creating some of Belfast's most sought-after addresses, including Lanyon Place, now home to the Waterfront Hall.
A large number of property investors from the Republic have snapped up luxury apartments on the river front.
Mr Mike Smith, chief executive of Laganside Corporation, said the company planned to reinvest a record £100 million in regeneration projects over the next 12 months.
"There is a lot of confidence in Belfast, particularly from Dublin-based investors who believe the market in the South is overheating whereas Northern Ireland still has a lot of opportunities.
"There is a sense of pride in the city and in what we have achieved to date." He said Laganside now planned to push ahead with its development plans for Cathedral Quarter, one of Belfast's oldest districts, which Laganside hopes will create a new arts and cultural focus in the city.
Another high priority for the company this year is the redevelopment of Eastbank, the area that lies to the east of the city centre and is now the location for the £100 million Odyssey centre, the home of ice hockey team, the Belfast Giants.
Dunloe Ewart acquired the site of the former Howden Sirocco plant which lies on the East Bank and plans to develop a number of commercial and residential projects on the site. Mr Smith said a number of potential hi-tech investors from the US had expressed interest in the site.
