December 2008 Minister Announces New Engineering Building for NUI Galway

Minister for Education and Science, Batt O'Keeffe T.D. last night announced that the Government has given the go-ahead for NUI Galway to commence work on a new €50 million Engineering Building on the Galway city campus. Leagan Gaeilge Speaking at NUI Galway, Minister O'Keefe said: "I am glad to be able to announce that the Government has sanctioned tendering for the development of a new Engineering School for NUI Galway. The new Engineering Building will be funded through a combination of exchequer funding under the National Development Plan 2007-2013, resources realised by NUI Galway, as well as donor funding". This 14,200 square metre building will accommodate the College of Engineering and Informatics, which is currently spread across 13 separate locations, both on and off-campus. It will include 'green-building' initiatives, and will itself be utilised as a teaching tool for the students. The building will house 110 staff and approximately 1100 students. Dr James J. Browne, President of NUI Galway, welcomed the announcement: "This is fantastic news for the future of Engineering at NUI Galway. We have always had a strong reputation for the quality of our Engineering programmes and this new development will transform the facilities and the quality of experience on offer to our students. The new building will also bring benefits to Galway city and the surrounding region - not only will it create jobs in the short term, it will enable us to continue to produce top quality Engineering graduates for the future". Designed by award-winning architects RMJM (Scotland) in partnership with Taylor Architects of Castlebar, Co Mayo this building will be the largest building constructed in one development on the NUI Galway city campus and will be situated to the north of the Quincentennial Bridge. The building contract will go to tender on Friday, 12 December, with a view to commencing construction in April 2009 and completing the project in March 2011. During peak construction period up to 300 people will be employed on the project. Minister O'Keeffe added: "Institutions such as NUI Galway have an essential part to play in enabling the State to face these demands and challenges as we move closer to realising our vision of a knowledge economy". ENDS