A midlands business and technology park, partly funded by the ESB following the closure of the Ferbane peat-fired station in the 1990s, will be opened today by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen.
The 15,000 square foot unit, which will include a crèche, forms the centre piece of the development that will be delivered over time by Offaly County Council on the rest of the 45-acre site.
The business and technology park, a major boost for an area that has traditionally been an employment blackspot, also includes sites suitable for light industry, manufacturing, warehousing, retail, offices, a tele-centre and R&D.
The development, on land offered by the county council, received €700,000 from the West Offaly Enterprise Fund, which was set up by the ESB following the downgrading and eventual closure of its Ferbane plant in the late 1990s.
"This took a lot of time and effort and it was very important that there was a strong partnership between the community, the local authority and local representatives," commented local businessman, Mr Pat O'Callaghan, a member of the board of Ferbane Business & Technology Park Ltd.
The industrial park is being built on lands known locally as "The Cowpark".
The lands were used as a commonage from the 1940s by locals with less than one acre of land to supplement their income.
"The National Spatial Strategy has identified the towns of Tullamore, Mullingar and Athlone as a Linked Gateway designed to be a driver of social-economic growth for the Midland Region.
"Ferbane's proximity to both Athlone and Tullamore will enable this new business and technology park to act as a key factor for regeneration and growth in west Offaly," said Mr Niall Sweeney, the Offaly county manager.
Following the peat station's closure, the ESB gave €3 million to the West Offaly Enterprise Fund, which, following discussions with the local authority and local community organisations, last year invited investment applications.
The ESB's contribution was made on the grounds that the semi-state company had operated in the area for 50 years.
The Ferbane plant is still in place and may be used by the ESB as an emergency facility, if planning permission is received.
The Ferbane Business & Technology Park Ltd, which was awarded €700,000 by the fund, has already been approved for funding by Enterprise Ireland and Shannon Development, the regional development agency.
Ferbane, with a population of 1,500, is situated on the River Brosna in west Offaly.
It is just 15 minutes from Athlone and within 40 minutes of two other National Spatial Strategy towns - Tullamore and Mullingar.
