The possibility of up to 500 Chinese firms coming to Athlone moved a little closer this week after the window for submissions to An Bord Pleanala on the €1.4bn trade exhibition suburb planned for Creggan closed on Monday. Only six objections have been lodged.
On December 2 Westmeath County Council gave planning permission to the €175m first phase of the project, with An Bord Pleanála expected to make a final decision in May.
Four of the objectors are neighbours of the proposed site for the project, with three coming from private residents and the third from Michael Moore Car Sales.
The others come from a local Irish lobby group - Gaelige Áth Luain - and the final one from the national planing watchdog An Taisce.
One of the local objections concerns the health implications possible construction pollution may have on an ill child, while the others worry about congestion and increased traffic at the rural location.
Moore’s garage has told Bord Pleanala it has plans to expand its facility in the near future and believe such a huge neighbour would impinge on this.
Gaelige Átha Luain is behind the idea but would like the project to reflect some Irishness, while An Taisce’s submission is not yet made public.
To date the identities of the investors are not known, and the consortium is fronted by John Tiernan, the former county manager of Roscommon.
In December Mr Tiernan confirmed there will be nothing produced on the proposed 32 ha (76 acre ) site, but that it will be “purely a showroom for trade purchases... for big time buyers”, and will be aimed at selling Chinese goods to Europe and the eastern seaboard of the USA.
If the go-ahead is granted in May it is predicted that 1,500 people could be employed in the construction phase of the project, which is hoped to begin in mid-2013 and take a little under two years to complete.
Interest in the project has grown in recent months, with articles appearing in the Christian Science Monitor - the oldest daily newspaper in the USA - and even in the Alaska Dispatch.
The Monitor pulls no punches and suggests “a trade hub slated for the Irish midlands could prove a showcase for the world’s second-largest economy in a struggling continent and provide much-needed jobs in debt-addled Ireland.”
The Athlone news came on the heels of a November announcement by Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming that Beijing will send a delegation to Europe in 2012 to explore options for investing in State-owned infrastructure. This is in line with China’s trade policy which translates as ‘go out’ to expand sales outside the home market to keep their economy growing, and under which this proposed project falls.
With the World Bank’s growth forecast for China reduced, partially because of the reduction in European demand for Chinese goods, a revived Europe is in China’s interest.
China has already bought about €600 million worth of European debt and is now looking to invest in State assets as well, such as roads and trains.
Asian investment in Ireland is still very limited, with only 41 companies operating here, compared to 491 American and 99 German ones.
