Playing catch-up with other Irish cities has been a preoccupation in Waterford for several decades, but according to Waterford Chamber of Commerce President, Monica Leech, "huge progress" has been made in recent years towards attaining that goal.

The makeover of Waterford goes further than bricks and mortar - an image revamp has been a vital part of the strategy to boost its profile both nationally and internationally. With a marketing budget of £200,000 (€254,000) a year, Waterford Tourism has spent the past five years promoting the county as a desirable place to visit.

Waterford Crystal has a powerful brand identity abroad but the city it emanates from has been blighted by past failures to advertise the rest of its attractions to the world.

"As part of our research, we found that a lot of people were not really not clear what Waterford had to offer," says Leech, who is also chief executive of Waterford Tourism. "There is little perception that we have a lively theatre and arts scene, lots of fine restaurants and shops, historical places to visit and we are close to a scenic coastline."

The marketing drive has seen cruise business rise by 100 per cent on last year - 12,000 people pulled into the city on 23 ships this year. Many of those visitors canvassed said the city outweighed their expectations, says Leech.

But as one local pointed out, "the product is good but it needs to be more accessible. Waterford is only 100 miles from Dublin but it's the guts of a three-hour drive. To actually catch up on other cities we need to have the proposed new roads in place. It is good to see that this much needed infrastructure has got the go-ahead but it's been a long wait. We want to see them up and running."

Patience is a quality that Waterford residents have been forced to acquire. They have waited more than 20 years for the much-needed by-pass and second Suir crossing to be approved. Documents detailing the £90 million (€114m) bypass are now on public display and the environmental impact statement is being prepared.

The first curve of the outer ring road from Dunmore Road was funded locally and the £9 million (€11.4 million) needed to complete the circle has only recently been allocated by the Department of the Environment and Local Government.

It will be at least the middle of this decade before these roads see completion but they will open up a wealth of development opportunities, particularly in the neglected north west of the city.

There are plans for two self-contained villages in the Gracedieu-Bawndaw area which will be separated by a stretch of urban parkland to prevent sprawl.

"That area has been kept sterile for over 20 years while Waterford was looking for a second river crossing," says city manager Eddie Breen. "Up to the time we got the go-ahead for the new infrastructure, the details of the route the road would take were unknown and it was not an area that was naturally serviceable."

Contract documents have since been signed on a £40 million (€50.8m) waste treatment plant, due for completion in 2004, which will improve service in the area. Urban sprawl will be prevented by a managed growth policy. "Rather than having houses stretching for ever, each village will have their own neighbourhood centre, church, schools and shops."

The beleaguered regional airport has once again been brought back from the brink of closure by a Government decision to increase its marketing grant from £165,000 (€209,550) to £200,000 (€254,000), a sum which will be matched by various regional and local interests, which will keep it afloat for the rest of the year.

Waterford Corporation has thrown the airport several financial lifelines in recent months. Airport chairman, Dr Cormac MacNamara, says there has been an "exceptional level of interest" in the new daily service to Luton by Euroceltic Airways and there are plans to increase flights to two a day later this month.

While he is optimistic about the future of the airport, he says its importance to the region has not been appreciated fully at national level. "In general terms regional airports can never hope to compete with national ones in terms of scale or economy, but they have value in terms of social and regional development and inward investment.

"We have had difficulty selling that message to the `powers that be' in Dublin. If you want investment then air access is a crucial factor. Other counties in the south east have rowed in behind us. The feeling is we have an airport, it may not be in the best place or with the best roads surrounding it but it's the best we have for now."

Regular visitors to Waterford will have noticed its remarkable piece-by-piece transformation in recent years. Waterford Corporation has spent over £80 million (€101 million) since 1994 on urban renewal, taking advantage of various tax designations. The south quay, once populated by ugly and derelict grain stores and transit sheds, was testament to the decay of the city's traditional centres of business and has been the focus of a number of visually impressive developments.

Regarded in the 19th century as one of the finest quays in Europe, its appearance was cited in a 1978 UCD report as one of causes of disinvestment in Waterford. Others bemoaned the lack of any one outstanding visual feature in the area apart from Reginald's Tower.

The stunning £2.2 million (€2.79 million) Millennium Plaza on Clyde Wharf, designed by Waterford Corporation's senior executive architect Rupert Maddock, has rectified this. Featuring a riverside performance area, sheltered seating and an imposing maritime sculpture by Liam Lavery, its official opening was postponed due to Foot and Mouth precautions. The site, which was built by Clyde Shipping in the 1950s, was acquired by Waterford Corporation in 1998.

The lightweight glazed Bus Eireann station on the south quay was considered by some as a waste of precious waterfront land but has since won plaudits for its striking design.

Private investment over the years has seen the large scale redevelopment of Scotch Quay and Canada Street, which feature a mix of town houses, apartments and office accommodation. The municipal marina, constructed in 1997 under the city's urban renewal initiative, got a £750,000 (€952,500) berthing facility with refuelling facilities at Merchant's Quay which caters for craft too large to be accommodated at the nearby marina. The aim of the Port of Waterford is to make Waterford a more attractive stopover for boat users.

THE linear riverside car-park stretching along the south quay has provoked mixed reaction although Waterford Corporation's chief planner John Andrews describes it as "a necessary evil."

"It provides badly needed parking but we hope to reduce the reliance on the quays by identifying suitable facilities elsewhere." A 300-space car-park built by Howard Holdings on Michael Street in the city centre mysteriously lies unopened, despite assurances that it would alleviate the parking problem.

Waterford Port's container traffic has progressively migrated four miles down river, since Belview port opened in 1993, leaving large tracts of land adjacent to the river on the north quays. The Harbour Board is the majority landowner of the 16-acre site, with the IAWS Group owning four acres.

Last year developers were invited to tender for the Harbour Board's land which was expected to fetch £10 million (€12.7 million) but it was later withdrawn.

The redevelopment of the North Wharf has a decision pending on the results of a feasibility study on a proposed venue building which will comprise a conference centre and sporting facilities.

A spokesperson for the Harbour Board said that any funds realised from the redevelopment of the North Quays will be used to further develop the port at Belview.