A top international design firm has been appointed to help transform the streets of Belfast, it emerged today.
EDAW, which helped reshape cityscapes from Manchester to Barcelona, is to carry out a £14 million overhaul.
The British government has also issued fresh development briefs on two major new retail masterplans at separate city centre sites.
With public consultation completed on blueprints for revamping areas around Castlecourt and Cathedral Way/Royal Avenue, a decision on where work will begin first is to be taken early next year.
It is already estimated that around 4,000 new jobs will be created by the time both retail hubs are completed sometime around 2012.
The plans for the North West and North East Quarters were drawn up to complement the ambitious Victoria Square shopping and leisure project due to employ around 3,000 people when it opens in 2007.
David Hanson, the Department for Social Development Minister, will announce on Thursday that Westfield Shopping Towns, owners of the Castlecourt centre, has been given first option on developing the North West section at a cost of up to £300m.
William Ewart Properties, the main landowner in the North East Quarter, is to come up with a vision for that section.
It will involve rebuilding the North Street Arcade, destroyed in a malicious fire last year.
The developers have to decide between reinstating it in its current form or carrying out a realignment to make room for more retail units.
Alongside these, EDAW has been chosen to carry out the Department's Public Realm Strategy.
The initiative is an attempt to achieve world class standards in urban design, maintenance and management of the streets and public spaces at the heart of the city.
Up to five major streetscape improvements are planned over the next three years, with the areas around Victoria Square, Chichester Street and Castle Street all in the frame.
Government officials believe the projects, along with plans to upgrade the Westlink motorway route and sewer system, will make up for 25 years of inactivity.