Northern Ireland is to get more than 1,500 jobs in a series of projects across the region, details of which were unveiled yesterday. The largest single project involving 700 jobs will be based in Derry. Gem, an e-mail mail company set up just 10 months ago, is to create 700 new jobs with the possibility of another 1,000 to come. Gem is also to boost its Belfast workforce from its current level of 74 to 195.
Mr Owen Lamont, chairman and chief executive of Gem, said his firm was negotiating with a leading US company to bring an additional 1,000 jobs to Derry. Mr Lamont described the announcement as a huge one and said he had great confidence in Gem's business plan given the success of the last 10 months. "If we can pull together to maintain peace and develop our economy and keep this momentum going, I believe Northern Ireland will enjoy unparalleled prosperity and stability. This announcement would not have happened without political stability.
"One of the biggest issues we have got to resolve in our country is to realise that inward investment would have been much greater if we had this stability sooner. It's critical to our future that we keep this thing going," he added.
Meanwhile, details of several projects which will generate more than 700 jobs were also announced yesterday. Around 600 full-time, part-time and casual jobs will be provided at the Odyssey complex in Belfast. The first part of the £91 million complex, a 10,000-seat arena, is due to open in early December while the complex is expected to be fully operational by mid-2001. It will host major sporting, musical and educational events.
A further 100 jobs were announced by Marks & Spencer at its store in the Sprucefield shopping complex near Lisburn. The jobs will become available following a £100 million development at the store. In another development Entropy, an Internet security company, announced an expansion of its current operations by opening a sales and marketing centre in Belfast. Mr Conall Lavery, Entropy's marketing manager, speaking at a conference in Belfast said the development would create 20 jobs over the next two years.
