Two of Northern Ireland's best-known firms, Bombardier Aerospace - the Canadian multinational which acquired Shorts Brothers in 1989 - and Belfast shipbuilder Harland & Wolff secured separate investment pledges worth over £350 million sterling yesterday.
Bombardier Aerospace is to create up to 1,200 jobs at its existing plants in Belfast, with an investment worth some £100 million over two years.
Harland & Wolff later announced it had been awarded a letter of intent for the design and construction of two luxury cruise vessels worth more than $350 million.
The two investment announcements were made only a day after the resumption of the Executive and were welcomed by politicians.
The Bombardier investment will bring the total number of people employed by the company in Northern Ireland to almost 7,000, an increase of 20 per cent on current levels.
The expansion is a direct result of recent successes in Bombardier's regional airliners and business jets.
The firm is understood to have won orders worth some £100 million and has a current backlog of several hundred aircraft on its books.
Mr Michael Graff, president and chief operating officer of Bombardier Aerospace, said the investment was very important for the company as increased production and shorter delivery times were critical to maintaining a competitive position.
He said the company had been following recent political events in Northern Ireland with great interest and with great hope.
The Belfast operations of Bombardier will receive investment in plant, equipment, product development and training in Northern Ireland and the existing workforce will be expanded.
IDB Northern Ireland has agreed to offer Bombardier selective financial assistance grants of some £12.8 million towards the costs of the investment.
Since acquiring Shorts Brothers from the government 11 years ago, Bombardier has invested some £900 million in Northern Ireland, making it the largest manufacturing employer.
Meanwhile, Harland & Wolff's announcement that it had received a letter of intent for two cruise ships worth some $350 million from an American backed London-based company Luxus Holdings was also welcomed.
Although the yard recently guaranteed its medium-term future after securing an order from Seamasters International, the shipyard has been seeking orders to establish a presence in the cruise ship market to secure its longer-term future.
Mr Brynjulv Mugaas, chief executive of Harland & Wolff, said the yard was now beginning to compile an order book which illustrated the diversity of projects undertaken by the company.
However, the letter of intent does not guarantee that a contract will be finalised.
Mr Les Royle, chief executive officer of Luxus Holdings - which is a start-up company formed by British expatriate investors - admitted last night that Luxus Holdings was yet to finalise funding for the investment. He said this would be completed on his return to the US.
