Taiwanese textile company Hualon has said it intends to press ahead with plans to build a multimillion pound factory outside Belfast after the European Court of Appeal yesterday rejected objections to the project.
A deal was originally signed between Hualon and the North's Industrial Development Board in June 1994 for a £157 million sterling plant at Mallusk, which promised to create up to 1,800 jobs. However, the project was held up by objections from the British Apparel and Textile Confederation and by European textile manufacturers.
They maintained that a government subsidy of £61 million, which had been pledged by the IDB, would distort competition and result in job losses elsewhere. The European Court overruled the objections last December, backing an earlier decision by the European Commission. An appeal by the British Apparel and Textile Confederation was finally rejected yesterday.
A spokesman for Hualon, Mr William Lue, responded by saying the company was still committed to locating in Belfast. Speaking on BBC radio, he said: "We hope this is going to be the final green light, so that we can go ahead with the project." However, Mr Lue could not confirm that 1,800 jobs would be created, saying that all details would have to be discussed with the IDB.
An IDB spokesman said it welcomed the decision and would be meeting Hualon representatives in the near future "to discuss the way forward".
Other controversies have also dogged the project, such as the conviction in Taiwan earlier this year of a former Hualon executive on charges of defaulting on share dealings. An IDB director, Mr Jennifer d'Abo, resigned in 1994 claiming board executives had failed to answer questions about the viability of the deal. Earlier this year the former economy minister at the Northern Ireland Office, Baroness Denton, denied that the British government had effectively abandoned the Hualon project.
The court decision was welcomed by the DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, who said the reason for the hold-up was "the jealousy of elements in the textile trade in Britain". He said the project would not damage the industry there, and he would be pressing the authorities to "speedily" bring Hualon to the North.
The Alliance Party spokesman, Mr Peter Osborne, said it was "good news for Northern Ireland", adding: "I hope now that we can get on with securing this investment."
