The Digital Hub project in Dublin's Liberties area has received €10.465 million in Exchequer funding since 2000 and will require another €5.94 million from the State between now and the end of 2008 before it becomes self-funding. John Collins  reports.

The Digital Hub Development Agency (DHDA) has published details of its past and future funding requirements as part of a draft development plan for the project which aims to build a digital media centre of excellence in Dublin city centre.

With the addition of the €56.5 million spent acquiring property for the Digital Hub in 2001 and 2002, total Exchequer funding for the project will reach €72.9 million. However, in 2012 the DHDA expects to have net assets of €110.8 million, which it says works out at a 52 per cent return on investment for the Government. Up to 2012, the DHDA will also pay approximately €15.7 million in capital gains tax and corporation tax.

The bulk of the DHDA's funding after 2008 will come from cash payments and office space provided by two private developers who purchased development sites owned by DHDA. P Elliott & Co, acquired 3.1 acres, while Manor Park Homebuilders acquired a 2.5 acre site, which it recently lodged a 10-year planning application for.

These developers will provide the DHDA with a minimum of 13,000 sq m of office space for the needs of digital media companies by May 2011. The developers will also build other office space that may be occupied by digital media companies, although this would depend on demand and the success of the sector according to a DHDA spokesperson.

Cashflow projections show that DHDA will have a cumulative cashflow shortfall of just under €1 million in 2009 and of over €4 million in 2010. It intends to fund this shortfall through short-term borrowings.

In 2005, after the collapse of negotiations with Manor Park Homes, the preferred bidder to develop the var roles = "IrelandComAuthor";// Disallow raw HTML Edit if user roles do not permit...if (roles.indexOf('IrelandComAdmin') == -1&& roles.indexOf('IrelandComHtmlEdit') == -1) {document.getElementById('ITArticle:summary').readOnly = true;document.getElementById('ITArticle:body').readOnly = true;}nine-acre site for the Hub, the Government agreed €4 million in short-term funding to keep the DHDA afloat.

At the end of 2005, there were 50 tenant companies employing 400 people in the Hub. By 2008, the target for 100 companies employing 900 people and by 2012 150-200 companies employing up to 3,000 people. Currently, the majority of tenant companies are start-up operations, but the Hub has also attracted established companies like Amazon and Riverdeep.