Northern Ireland Economic News
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Belfast Harbour 'may delay' some schemes hit by Covid-19 but continuing £116m investment
Belfast Harbour may delay some of its projects impacted by Covid-19 and its once burgeoning cruise business is now on ice but says it’s continuing with £116m of investment in major office space and other developments.
www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
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imo the 'boom' from our current boom-bust cycle has just come to an end. I'd imagine a few private-investment led projects will finish up and a few more will be optimistically discussed until the end of the year, but the optimism will fade. I don't expect much more construction in the city for another 4-5 years, and that would be under normal downturned economic circumstances without the added dread of Brexit and Covid fallout looming over everything and changing the way we live. Hope I'm wrong but it's hard to see many other situations unfold.
I should note that I would expect at least a few of the govt funded infrastructure projects to still go ahead.
I should note that I would expect at least a few of the govt funded infrastructure projects to still go ahead.
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I actually think you maybe wrong here but I’m not certain as these are unpredictable times.
Here’s why
1. Northern Ireland’s unique position of being in the land border of a post brexit uk and the Eu, any trade between EU and Uk will be mainly through NI and the South of England. I know a few investment bankers and they advised to invest in Belfast post Brexit for that reason, but this is contingent on the union remaining, which Brexit may have decreased the likelihood of that.
2. Northern Ireland has the best covid numbers in the Uk and one of the best in Europe. This means we have a head start at reopening are economy.The world’s economy has taken a hit due to covid,so we have the chance to overtake countries traditionally ahead of us with investment.
Here’s why
1. Northern Ireland’s unique position of being in the land border of a post brexit uk and the Eu, any trade between EU and Uk will be mainly through NI and the South of England. I know a few investment bankers and they advised to invest in Belfast post Brexit for that reason, but this is contingent on the union remaining, which Brexit may have decreased the likelihood of that.
2. Northern Ireland has the best covid numbers in the Uk and one of the best in Europe. This means we have a head start at reopening are economy.The world’s economy has taken a hit due to covid,so we have the chance to overtake countries traditionally ahead of us with investment.
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Thats all true, but being the extreme cynic that I am, I still struggle to see how NI can benefit massively and attract the mega-corps whilst being caught in the middle with regards to Brexit. The additional customs checks will create complex bureaucratic headaches for business, and theres already been analysis's conducted that demonstrate that many of the supposed benefits of our quasi-EU status may be mitigated by future Westminster legislation. Theres an additional fear that shell-corperations may be established to take advantage of our enviable position whilst the mainland continues to benefit with the majority of job creation and office space usage. To become a truly competitive and appealing business hub, there would also be an obligation to invest potentially billions improving our inadequate local infrastructure and making Belfast a more desirable place for urban professionals to live.
I imagine that post-downturn, Belfast's thriving businesses will instead predominantly continue to be from within the local hospitality sector, which in the last decade has grown to become a real tangiable asset. One other exception I can see is our established and growing tech scene, in which I also happen to be employed. The talent pool is already there. Communications infrastructure aside, tech firms should hopefully approach Belfast with more open minds and far fewer expectations and demands than other more traditional industries usually make.
Covid I guess is a totally separate issue. We've undeniably handled it pretty well here, but at the end of the day we're bound to the larger British economy, and being a small, economically insignificant part of the country I'm not sure theres an awful lot we can do to mitigate the impending damage that the nation is about to experience as a whole. If England is weak, then we are weak. I really do hope I am so wrong! Bring on the cranes. 🏗
I imagine that post-downturn, Belfast's thriving businesses will instead predominantly continue to be from within the local hospitality sector, which in the last decade has grown to become a real tangiable asset. One other exception I can see is our established and growing tech scene, in which I also happen to be employed. The talent pool is already there. Communications infrastructure aside, tech firms should hopefully approach Belfast with more open minds and far fewer expectations and demands than other more traditional industries usually make.
Covid I guess is a totally separate issue. We've undeniably handled it pretty well here, but at the end of the day we're bound to the larger British economy, and being a small, economically insignificant part of the country I'm not sure theres an awful lot we can do to mitigate the impending damage that the nation is about to experience as a whole. If England is weak, then we are weak. I really do hope I am so wrong! Bring on the cranes. 🏗
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Did Belfast Harbour ever build a cruise terminal? It wonder how long it will take that sector to recover, maybe operators will offer cruises for next to nothing to stay afloat. I'm sure the tourist impact on Belfast will be felt in places like the Titanic Museum.
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In the article it estimated 3 years
How does Northern Ireland benefit in number 1? We have Customs checks with GB.
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Proximity land border with EU
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The executive is seeking a consultancy and design team to propose new urban villages in Belfast and Derry
Yes, but we’re cutting off our greatest trading partner. We will lose British companies and choice in Northern Ireland.
We won’t have much of an advantage given that we are still leaving the EU.
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In a no deal possibly, but in any deal there will have to be exceptions for Ni to not infringe upon the the Good Friday agreement.
I think the covid situation will soften the negotiations from either side due to understanding of the negative impact it has had on both economies.
Another point about a post brexit is benefitting Ni is that trade with US will increase and the closer major port in Uk to US is Belfast.
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*closest
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Why will you have less choice?
Perhaps it's time to expand horizons beyond the next island.
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Good news, will be great to see them win this RFA contract for the Royal Navy coming up. The investment required will be huge, but they should be able to get a steady stream of RFA contracts out of it when it comes to replacing their logistics ships while Scotland builds frigates etc.
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Major Belfast office schemes press ahead despite uncertainty over future demand
PROPERTY developers and investors have signalled their intent to proceed with major office schemes in Belfast, despite uncertainty over the future of demand for office space.
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