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Mallon welcomes key milestone on Belfast Transport Hub project Infrastructure Minister, Nichola Mallon has welcomed the completion of the first key milestone in the construction of the new Belfast Transport Hub. Translink has been working in collaboration with construction and civil engineering contractor GRAHAM on the Enabling Works phase, to deliver essential engineering work to clear the site ready for the main build. In this first stage of the development, extensive work has been carried out to successfully move the current bus engineering and operations facilities to new accommodation while maintaining day to day services for passengers. The Enabling Works phase is due to complete late 2021. This £multi-million transport led regeneration project, funded by the Department for Infrastructure, will see the transformation of the 8-hectare city centre site, delivering a modern, high quality integrated transport hub to enhance local and international connectivity with bus, coach and rail links across Northern Ireland and beyond. Minister Mallon said: “Our public transport network is vital in our recovery from Covid-19 both economically and socially. The hub
will bring together many aspects of how we travel including greener and cleaner travel by cycling, bus and rail. As we work to better connect communities across this island, it is my ambition to provide more choices for citizens too, so that access to more sustainable modes of transportation is not a luxury for the few, but an option for the many. By working in partnership we can transform our public transport network and the opportunities for citizens to use
active and sustainable travel.” Translink Group CEO, Chris Conway said: “This is a significant milestone in the Enabling Works Programme which has seen the construction of a new bus wash facility, a new engineering garage, storage facilities and bus parking area. The move makes way for the next stage of works that will see an intensive period of culvert and utility diversions. “We have also completed a range of other activities including ecology
surveys, ground remediation works and drainage activities. Work is progressing well, and we expect this phase to be completed by the end of the year.”
Complex Phase Discussing the Stage One completion, GRAHAM’s contracts manager, Andrew Henry, said: “We have worked in close collaboration with Translink’s project and operational teams to complete this complex phase. Working in a live operational environment, sensible steps have been taken to minimise the overall disruption especially to Translink’s operational staff, passenger services and neighbours in the adjoining residential and business communities. Our staff have also responded well to the range of additional Covid measures in place to allow us to keep this impressive new transport hub project on track.” Designed to be a multi-modal hub, the BTH will transform public transport, facilitating greater capacity with an increase to 26 bus stands, 8 railway platforms, cycle and taxi provision delivering enhanced connectivity and comfort encouraging sustainable active travel for a healthier city. The Main Works and Infrastructure enhancement phases of the BTH project are due to commence in 2022 and due to complete by 2025.
UK Trader Scheme: Declaring goods not ‘at risk’ There are new and evolving rules for NI businesses trading with Great Britain and the EU, and moving goods can be challenging in this environment. Invest NI’s series of EU Exit Advice webinars can guide you through these uncertain times and help save your business time and money. A focused one-hour webinar on Wednesday 28 April at 10am, part of a series of such events, will be delivered by HMRC and will provide expert advice on how your
business can use the UK Trader Scheme. You will learn how to complete the process of becoming authorised to declare goods not ‘at risk’ of moving to the EU, which could reduce tariff liabilities. There will also be a presentation on apportionment and declaring parts of consignments based on your previous trading activity. Afterwards, a panel of experts will be on hand to answer your business-specific queries during one-to-one ‘ask the expert’ advice consultations. You can register now for the free webinar and one-to-one advice clinic at https:// www.investni.com/eu-exit-events
Opening of SEKO Logistics’ new Dublin facility leads to expanded partnership SEKO Logistics and PeliBioThermal are targeting a bigger share of Ireland’s growing pharmaceutical market after extending their two-year partnership, supported by SEKO’s opening of a new 30,000 sq ft facility in Dublin. PeliBioThermal, which offers the widest range of temperaturecontrolled, thermally protected packaging and service solutions
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to the global life sciences industry, appointed SEKO Logistics as its network station and service centre in Ireland in 2019.
The world’s top10 BioPharmaceutical companies and 14 of the world’s top 15 medical technology companies
all have operations in Ireland as well as 75 pharmaceutical companies contributing to the country’s €39 billion in annual exports connected to the pharma, bio and chemistry sectors. The success of the partnership, alongside SEKO’s investment in its new Dublin hub, has enabled PeliBioThermal to now upgrade its service offering to pharma customers in Ireland and leverage SEKO’s international freight forwarding network.
