Liverpool plan won't impact on Creggan project: developers

The company behind the plans for a Euro China Trading Hub at Creggan has said this week that a plan for an International Trade Centre in Liverpool which was recently given the green light by officials will not impact on the Athlone plan, which they say is based on a more comprehensive scale. At the end of September Wirral Council in Liverpool gave the go ahead for a £200m International Trade Centre in Birkenhead which is to allow more that 1,000 companies from emerging Asian markets in China, India and South Korea to exhibit and distribute their goods in the UK, Ireland and throughout Europe. Peel Holdings is the company behind this project, which it says could provide up to 3,000 jobs. The centre in Liverpool is to be made up of four multi-level buildings, totalling about 230,000sq m. The facility is to include showroom spaces, warehousing/storage and assembly facilities and the goods on display are to cover all sectors and business lines, including, but not restricted to, electrical items, textiles and clothing, kitchenware, furniture, fixtures, fittings, building materials etc. However, a spokesman for Athlone Business Park Ltd, the company behind the Euro China Trading Hub (ECTH), said the two projects are somewhat different, but the promoters of the Creggan project hope to be able to get planning permission as quickly as the Liverpool project. A spokesman for the ECTH project told the Westmeath Independent: "The ECTH Project at Athlone is based on a more comprehensive scale befitting the overall cohort of target customers in the EU, US, Mid-East and North African markets and is deemed to be more aligned to the higher level Chinese Government export driven 'Go Out ' policy than the Peel proposal. The scale of operation proposed at ECTH Athlone will ultimately entail some 3,000 companies, with 540 in Phase 1." The spokesman added: "ECTH will bring positive implications for employment, tourism, servicing and local manufacturers and traders bearing in mind also that space is being set aside for Irish goods at the Campus. The spin off to the Irish economy from Phase 1 alone will inject €131m annually in to GDP." Comparing the Athlone project to the one which has received planning permission in Liverpool, he explained: "The business model for the Peel project at the Wirral appears to be more oriented towards importation, flat-pack assembly and other product sales within the UK, Ireland and the EU. The ECTH project is focused on a more global market and upon large scale bulk orders transacted at the Athlone campus and then delivered from China to the customer. This is considered more sustainable in the context of overall acceptance within the business landscape. The backers of the Athlone project say the fact that the Liverpool project exists simply reinforces their research which shows that there is a strong desire from Chinese exporters to grow their markets in Europe. The ECTH spokesman said: "The market research carried out by the ECTH promoters indicates a very strong desire amongst Chinese exporters to grow their exports to the West. The fact that such a project as Peel is being mooted by other promoters from China bears independent testament to the level of interest amongst other groups from China to become involved. As with the Peel proposals there will undoubtedly be a number of regional centres around Europe in years to come. "The Peel proposal is situated in a more confined site and having been formerly used for heavy engineering purposes the planning conditions include for a programme of soil rehabilitation. This process will take some considerable time." Though not directly comparable the ECTH promoters are hopeful of a grant of planning permission at Creggan "as expeditiously as possible in order to take advantage of being the first on the ground".