THE FIRST SOD was turned on the new €233 million Centre Parcs holiday resort in Longford today.
An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar attended the ceremony, marking the official start of construction.
Center Parcs Longford Forest will have up to 500 lodges, more than 100 indoor and outdoor activities, a spa, a range of restaurants and cafés and a Subtropical Swimming Paradise, the company has said.
The company said last year that the resort “will have a dedicated team of Conservation Rangers who will protect and nurture the beautiful woodland”.
Permission for the project was granted in July 2016. The new holiday resort in Ballymahon, County Longford will have the capacity for up to 2,500 guests and will employ up to 1,000 people in permanent jobs.
Welcome development
Varadkar welcomed the project today, saying that the it “represents a significant investment in the Irish economy, and especially in tourism”.
The €200 million investment is almost certainly the biggest in the region’s history. The Government is very conscious that Longford has faced economic challenges, but the tide is turning.
Centre Parcs estimates that the resort will add about €32 million to Ireland’s GDP a year.
It was revealed in June of this year that natural gas will be piped into Longford for the first time after a €3 million deal with Centre Parcs.
More than 130 construction workers are now on site, with that number expected to peak at around 750 next year.
Centre Parcs specialises in short breaks in secluded, woodland settings, and has a host of holiday resorts across Europe, including five in the UK.
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