Agenda item

The Director of Economic Development reminded the Members that the UK government had recently approved the expansion of Heathrow Airport, with the installation of a third runway, which he explained would be one of the largest infrastructure projects in the UK.

            He outlined to the Members that it was estimated that the development would create around 60,000 new jobs and generate around £70bn in total economic benefit by the 2050s.

            The Committee was advised that, in recognition of the scale of the investment, and the potential for all parts of the UK to benefit from supply chain and skills development opportunities, Heathrow had sought expressions of interest for up to four Logistics Hub locations.  The Director explained that the Hubs would be used as off-site centres for construction and manufacturing in order to help the airport to deliver its expansion plan within an agreed timeframe and with minimal on-site disruption.

            He reminded the Committee six of the 65 sites which had been shortlisted were located in Northern Ireland.  They included:

·        North Foreshore – Belfast;

·        Global Point Business Park – Antrim and Newtownabbey;

·        Belfast International Airport – Antrim and Newtownabbey;

·        Former Michelin Site – Mid and East Antrim;

·        Silverwood Businesss Park – Lurgan; and

·        Former Shackleton Barracks – Ballykelly.

            He outlined to the Committee that, following a visit to Northern Ireland in June 2018, senior representatives from Heathrow’s Procurement Team had met with representatives from all sites as well as with some potential first and second tier suppliers for the expansion works.   In order to improve the chances of making a successful bid, the Director explained that the partners had identified that a collaborative proposition involving all six NI sites was likely to be favoured over individual, stand-alone site solutions.  He advised the Committee that the Heathrow Team was expected to provide an update on the procurement timeframes by the end of August 2018.

            In relation to the North Foreshore site, he highlighted that, due to a range of development interests on the site, if it was to progress to the next stage of the process, consideration would need to be given as to how it could complement other planned development activity on the site. 

            The Director also pointed out that the Heathrow Procurement Team had committed to a series of ‘Meet the Buyer’ Events across the UK, in partnership with local business organisations.  He explained that the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce had arranged the first ever Northern Ireland-based Meet the Buyer event in the City Hall on 20th June, 2018.  The event had enabled local businesses to meet with key buyers from Heathrow, focusing on existing supplies and services requirements.

            He outlined that more than 160 local companies had had meetings with a number of procurement leads from Heathrow, 77 of which were from Belfast.  The Members were advised that an evaluation of the event was underway by the Northern Ireland Chamber of Commerce but that anecdotal feedback had suggested that the participating businesses had found the event very useful.

After discussion, the Committee noted:

1.     the potential supply chain opportunities for local companies which had been created as a result of the expansion of Heathrow Airport; and

2.     the recent “Meet the Buyer” event which had taken place in the City Hall and which was attended by a significant number of companies from the Belfast City Council area.