Plans lodged for first phase of China trade hub

Two local developers are hoping to implement a €1.4bn masterplan which would create up to 9,000 jobs and attract up to 30,000 visitors per week to the town. A planning application for the first phase of the massive project at Creggan was submitted to Westmeath County Council by Athlone Business Park Ltd on Friday and Monday last, The directors of Athlone Business Park Ltd are Aidan Kelly and Michael O'Sullivan. The project, now being known as the Europe China Trading Hub, will provide showcase 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. 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. The promoters have stressed that these exhibition halls are of top architectural quality. There will be another major multi-purpose hall (known as the China hall) for visiting exhibitions with space for 135 separate display areas. Another nine smaller one-storey exhibitions halls are also proposed for phase one, totalling 22,000 square metres. These halls are designed for larger, bulkier exhibits such as electric cars and machinery which would not be suitable for the smaller display areas in the mega exhibition halls. Underground parking to cater for up to 1,370 car parking spaces, as well as a bus terminus and bus bays and a four-storey reception building are also included in the first phase. Speaking to the Westmeath Independent this week, John Tiernan, chief executive of Athlone Business Park Ltd refuted suggestions that a lack of finance to develop the project would stymie the plans. He said it would likely be financed by a mixture of private equity and pre-sales of exhibition space and admited that the company was "negotiating" with Chinese investors. "There is a tremendous appetite for this in China. The interest is here for this. The question as to whether it goes ahead or not is largely a planning issue at this stage. "This hasn't happened because of Irish developers thinking this up and going to China. They came here and approached us," he stressed. "The people that we have interacted with have access to funds. But hard-nosed business men that they are, they want to be sure that they have a number of units sold off first." He said this model of financing development was part of the reason for the phased, staged approach to the planning application. The phased approach would also assist in allaying fears of the public, the developers believe, as it would allow the public to make submissions at each stage. "The planning application is the next logical step in the endeavour to capture this International Trade and Commerce hub for Ireland and Athlone," said Tiernan. Mr Tiernan said the development was designed to dovetail with the Chinese government's policy to encourage Chinese businesses to seek new markets in the west. Accepting that there was a degree of bewilderment in Athlone regarding the entire concept, he said it was important for people to realise that this was a serious proposal, as evidenced by the planning application. "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 stressed. "To me this is a tremendous opportunity for the town," Mr Tiernan argued. He pointed out that the 1,500 jobs set to be created in Phase One were clean, non-industrial jobs and would span the spectrum from business graduates, legal, taxation and banking personnel, PR and advertising, languages and translation expertise as well as a range of maintenance, catering, landscaping and driver operatives. "The range of employment that is envisaged here is something that should excite a lot of people around the Midlands who are looking for work. Asked why Athlone was being proposed as the site of such an international project, Mr Tiernan said: "This is not saying that Athlone is the only site for this. We are saying this is where it is proposed." He explained that Athlone's status as a gateway town in the National Spatial Strategy was important while the site's location adjacent to the Dublin-Galway rail and road network was also significant. "There is also good access to Shannon International Airport, with its pre-customs clearance facilities and flights serving US cities." Further phases of the project will involve another seven mega exhibition halls, the flagship central tower, a Chinese village including souvenir shops, restaurants and other retail services, hotels (up to three are envisaged), up to 400 residential units and hostel accommodation, pubs, a railway station and a school. The developers are also providing five acres of land to cater for the potential expansion of Clonbonny National School, which is adjacent to the site. Mr Tiernan said the hotels would not be built until it was clear that there was insufficient capacity in Athlone's existing hotel stock to deal with the demand. Athlone Business Park Ltd believes the project can be integrated with the remainder of Athlone. The Loughandonning Link Road will be used as a key artery with Athlone, while it's expected that a shuttle bus service between the site and Athlone town centre will also be operational. Although there are plans for up to 400 residential units in later phases of the project, it's expected that employees and construction workers will also take up some of the existing unused housing capacity in Athlone. A skyscraping central tower, reaching a whopping 210 metres into the sky, is also a proposed feature of further phases. Mr Tiernan explained that a centrepiece landmark such as the tower was central to Chinese development culture. "Every town and every village in Chine has something like that," he said. At 210 metres, the structure would be Ireland's fourth highest and would be 90m higher than Dublin's Spire.