9,000 jobs, €1.4 billion plan....Could it happen?

After more than two years of rumours and conjecture, the first concrete step towards a mind-boggling €1.4bn investment in a Europe China trade hub at Creggan, on the outskirts of Athlone, came to pass late last week. The submission of a planning application by Athlone Business Park Ltd for a first phase of the development on Friday last brought the project from the realm of rumour to one of possibility. The project is designed to provide exhibition and demonstration space for Chinese manufacturers and traders to display their products to European and other international buyers, with a view to generating bulk orders which will then be delivered from the producers in China. The numbers bring home the staggering size of the proposed masterplan: €1.4bn investment; 9,000 jobs; 1.5 million annual visitors ... The directors of the applicants, Aidan Kelly and Michael O'Sullivan, have remained low profile over the last few months and former Roscommon county manager John Tiernan is currently fronting the project as chief executive. He is keen this week to assure the public that this is no fanciful dream. "Phase One has gone in as a planning application, that's real. 70 professionals have been dealing with the various aspects of design, that's real," he told the Westmeath Independent this week. "To me this is a tremendous opportunity for the town," Mr Tiernan argued. Since first floated in the media last year, the notion of a Chinese trade and exhibition centre being based in Athlone sparked attention, curiosity and bewilderment in equal measure in the region. It's been the worst-kept secret in business circles and in over 15 years of journalism, this reporter has never been asked about any other story as frequently. There is a significant public interest - and why wouldn't there be? The notion of a project of this potential scale being located in Athlone is truly staggering. And of course, it throws up all manner of questions regarding the area's capacity to deal something of this magnitude; of its integration with Athlone; of the ethnic mix of workers and so on. Ultimately that's all for the planners to consider and the public to comment upon during the formal public consultation phase of the planning process. The applicants, Athlone Business Park Ltd, have stated that all other elements of their masterplan are objectives, but many not necessarily come to pass precisely as planned. However, some of the proposed elements are truly eye-catching. Take the 210-metre high centrepiece tower planned for later phases. Or the nine 'mega' exhibition halls, stretching over 270,000 square metres in total and catering for a potential 3,000 display areas. Or the two four-star and one five-star hotels which are also tentatively proposed for later phases .. the list goes on. If planning permission is forthcoming, the developers are hoping to open the doors on this phase of the project by late 2014 or early 2015. They hope, if the preliminary phases are successful, to complete all five phases within seven to ten years of opening. The €175m first phase of the project includes two 'mega' exhibition halls, with each two-storey hall containing space for 270 display areas. Each of these halls spans over 30,000 square metres (similar to two Golden Island shopping centres). It could create 1,500 operational jobs - of which two thirds would be for Irish and EU nationals. See special report in this week's Westmeath Independent.