NWCCI welcome road investment package

The North West Chambers of Commerce Initiative today warmly welcomed the announcement by Peter Hain, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, of a major investment package for the roads infrastructure of the North West.

Speaking in Derry, Mr Hain outlined a major investment in the main road link from Belfast to the North West which will see the dualling of the A6 from Londonderry to Dungiven. In all 30 Km of Dual Carriageway, including the by-pass of Dungiven, will be added. This is the largest ever road scheme in the history of Northern Ireland and will cost in the region of £250 million. In addition to the Londonderry/Dungiven section, further investment we be made to other sections of the route, including an additional lane being added to a South bound section of the M2 at Sandyknowles, the upgrading to dual carriageway standard of the A6 from the end of the M22 to Castledawson and the addition of a further 3 "2+1" road sections on the A6 from Castledawson to Dungiven.

Speaking after the announcement, Eamon Stevenson, past president of Letterkenny Chamber of Commerce said, "This is excellent news for Letterkenny, for Donegal and for the North West as a whole. As you will know, this is one of the most important access routes to the region. The Chambers of Commerce in the region have, as a collective under NWCCI, been lobbying for improvements to this route for sometime and we are delighted at the details outlined today. We are now hopeful that the confidence and commitment in the region, shown by central government will quickly be mirrored by further investment from the private sector."

Niall Birthistle, chairman of the North West Chambers of Commerce Initiative added, "This is a great day for the North West Region of the Island. The upgrading of the access infrastructure will greatly assist the region to realise its full economic potential. We fully expect this to have a major positive impact all sectors of industry of the North West and are sure that this will help to attract much needed investment."

NWCCI is an umbrella organisation representing 9 Chambers of Commerce in Letterkenny, Gweedore, Strabane, Londonderry, Roe Valley Coleraine, Buncrana, Donegal Town and Ballybofey/Stranorlar. As a collective, the organisation lobby for the business community in the North West of the Island of Ireland and work towards securing improvements for the betterment of the regional economy.