30/05/2013

£4m Connswater Project Contract Awarded

A £4m contract to deliver the first phase of the Connswater Community Greenway project has been awarded to Maghera-based BSG Civil Engineering Ltd.

The Connswater Community Greenway project encompasses an area from Belfast Lough to the Castlereagh Hills.

The total project is worth £35m, with the second £23m phase due to begin next Spring.

The rest of the funding will cover public art, land purchase, employment and future management and maintenance of the Greenway.

Belfast City Council said the contractor will be on site to prepare for work before the end of June.

Construction work is expected to be completed by Spring 2014.

Three km of new paths, including two new bridges for pedestrians and cyclists and a third bridge for vehicles, will be constructed, along with landscaping, miscellaneous public realm work and associated lighting and CCTV.

Specific focus will be on Orangefield and Victoria Parks, including the construction of flood walls, flood embankments and river realignment works.

The Lord Mayor, Alderman Gavin Robinson, said: "The Connswater Community Greenway is an integral part of Belfast City Councils £150m investment programme and is going to transform the east of the city – and I am thrilled to make this announcement as one of the last major engagements in my year of office.

"This project is a key example of how major projects can be taken forward in partnership between local and central government and between the private and public sectors, but with the local communities in the driving seat."

Work on the Connswater Community Greenway ceased last year following contractual difficulties with the previous contractors.

Chair of the council's Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, Councillor Deirdre Hargey said: "While progress may appear to have been slow, the fact is council officers and all the other stakeholders have been working extremely hard behind the scenes to get this project back on track.

"I commend all concerned for getting us to this point – I now look forward with great excitement to the completion of this project, which is the biggest and best of its kind ever delivered in Belfast and is one of the major projects of our Investment Programme."

(IT/CD)

Related Northern Ireland News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

20 November 2024
Other News In Brief
Alliance Calls For 'Immediate And Decisive' Action On Child Hunger The Alliance Party has called for "immediate and decisive" action to address the growing crisis of child hunger in Northern Ireland.
03 June 2008
Further Cash Boost For Connswater Project
One of East Belfast's most iconic projects has received a further boost. The Department for Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie announced this week that a £3.2 million funding package to secure the delivery of the Connswater Community Greenway project in East Belfast had been agreed.
04 January 2012
Recognition For First APM Register Project Professionals
The Association for Project Management (APM) has recognised the first Northern Ireland recipients of its new APM Registered Project Professional (RPP) designation.
03 November 2010
Welcome For Connswater Parkway Project
The construction contracts for a multi-million pound inner city linear parkway project have now been awarded The innovative Connswater Community Greenway has received a fillip with the news that work will start later this month on the planned new bridges, riverside walkways and cycleways.
23 July 2013
Phase 1 Of Connswater Community Greenway Begins
Belfast City Council has confirmed work has started at Victorian and Orangefield Parks. The work, which got underway yesterday, is part of the first phase of the Connswater Community Greenway scheme. BSG Civil Engineering Ltd, who are delivering the works, will be on site in both parks, as construction begins on the £35m project.