Plans for a new 81 bed hotel are underway, signalling a total investment of £5million by the developer, Moorefield.
The proposal, now in its pre-application consultation phase, has been set out to meet the growing demand for additional beds at Belfast International Airport.
Reported recently, Belfast International Airport is undergoing sustained growth in terms of greater numbers of international passengers using the airport and a higher level of new passengers from the Republic of Ireland.
Thirty jobs are expected to be created in the construction phase with a further thirty full time equivalent jobs being created once the hotel is operational, should the application be successful.
Canice Mallaghan, Moorefield Hospitality said today:
“The demand for more hotel rooms has been created by the growth and success at the International Airport. We are excited by the opportunity to bring forward a new hotel creating a range of jobs in the process. We have secured a leading hotel operator for the development.”
“We have recently completed construction of the new Airport Service Station forecourt and convenience retail outlet located close to the new proposed hotel. Marks & Spencer have already signed up as the anchor tenant as well as Irish coffee chain Insomnia who are opening their first outlet in Northern Ireland, there will be 100 full and part time jobs.”
Graham Keddie, Managing Director, Belfast International Airport, said:
“The proposed hotel development mirrors wider economic activity at the airport and is a direct result of passenger growth.”
“We have just had twenty-six consecutive months of double-digit growth and clearly there’s a demand for new passenger and visitor facilities. The hotel isn’t just good for the airport, but good for the entire area. What we are doing is delivering tangible benefit and, in so doing, creating business opportunities with great potential.”