THE Government's decision to grant special tax status to Knock Airport in co Mayo will lead to 2,000 jobs within three years, the Minister for Tourism and Trade, Mr Kenny, predicted last night.
All seven regional airports were granted special tax status at yesterday's Cabinet meeting.
Knock's designation will change the commercial face of much of Co Mayo not just the 200 acre tax zone around the airport, said the airport board's chairman, Mr Cathal Duffy. This is not an election stunt. It comes at the end of an intensive year. We have secured the involvement of three strategic partners," he confirmed.
He said that with the help of Mr Kenny, strategic partners had been secured to facilitate major commercial development at the airport. They had business interests on international fronts, including the service industry, he said.
The Minister confirmed the involvement of Alliance International, a freight forwarding company closely associated with the Texas based, US multi billionaire Mr Ross Perot, but Mr Duffy declined to go into detail as the board was subject to a confidentiality agreement. The executive dealing with the project in Alliance International was not available for comment last night.
Mr Duffy added. We want to congratulate Minister Kenny. He has worked extremely hard for this. Mayo has secured the same designation as Shannon Airport or the International Financial Services Centre in Dublin. The level of investment and jobs will be significant on a regional scale."
Mr Kenny said that the decision would prove to be one of the most significant in terms of the devel would "mark Mayo's coming of age as a major employment centre".
He accused the Fianna Fail spokesman on transport, Mr Seamus Brennan, of engaging in a cynical exercise of trying to pre-empt the announcement by declaring on Monday that Fianna Fail on returning to Government would grant Knock Airport similar status. The airport had sought designation over a period while Fianna Fail was in office and had got nowhere, he said.
The package will provide a range of tax incentives for the 290 acre site including an extension of the 10 per cent corporation tax to specified sectors.
The package will be put in place through a special amendment to the Finance Bill which is due to complete its passage through the Dail this week.
Alliance International will use Knock as a bridgehead into Europe. It intends to develop the area into an industrial model on the lines of Forth Worth Alliance Airport in Texas.
