Work is to begin next month on a £16 million Millennium Wing extension to the National Gallery of Ireland, at Clare Street, Dublin 2. The contract for the 44,000 sq ft building has been awarded to the contracting firm of Michael McNamara and Co.

The extension will complete a comprehensive series of developments which have taken place at the gallery in recent years with State funding of the order of £8 million, including the refurbishment of the North Wing and major works to No 89 Merrion Square. The Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms de Valera, has described the awarding of the contract as "the culmination of a fruitful partnership combining State, EU and private sponsors resulting in this magnificent planned extension to the gallery".

Mrs Carmel Naughton, chairman of the board of the National Gallery, said the approval of the contract represented the culmination of over 10 years of planning by a dedicated team within the gallery and the board to bring the project to successful fruition. She was confident that when completed in the latter part of 2000, Dublin and Ireland would have a national gallery which would be a worthy venue for major national and international art exhibitions.

To date, the gallery has invested over £4 million in acquiring and managing the site. A further £5 million has been raised by the gallery through the private sector towards the cost of construction. A sum of £7.5 million has been earmarked from the European Regional Development Fund for this purpose and the Government has contributed £2 million. The balance of £1.5 million is being raised through the gallery's development office.

The design team comprises UK architects Benson and Forsyth, quantity surveyors Rogerson Reddan in association with Bucknall Austin, and engineers O'Connor Sutton Cronin and Oscar Faber.