Plans for one of largest commercial developments in Belfast city centre were unveiled yesterday by a joint venture company set up by Dunloe Ewart, MEPC and John Laing Property Ltd.

The £250 million sterling development of almost one million sq ft will include a 550,000 sq ft extension to the city's prime shopping centre, Castle Court, and a modernisation of Royal Avenue. The Belfast Gateway Partnership project will also include the construction of a 200-bedroom hotel tower and the creation of a pedestrianised plaza at the northern end of Royal Avenue. A galleria is also proposed for the east side of Royal Avenue opposite Castle Court providing a new, high-glazed access to the Cathedral Quarter area.

At street level, the galleria will include a food court and other shops and restaurants with cinemas and a health club at lower level. Barry Gilligan, Northern Ireland director of Dunloe Ewart, said the scheme will regenerate a vast area of underused land and would bring the northern end of the city core back to life.

It would also create the platform and access route for the new Cathedral Quarter.

Drawings and a model of the scheme are currently on display in Castle Court which is owned by MEPC.

Ivan Stephenson of MEPC said the company's plans would enhance Belfast as the regional capital of Northern Ireland.

Plans provide for a 11-screen multiplex cinema, 30,000 sq ft of entertainment and restaurant space and a 43,000 sq ft museum and art gallery. There will be two new multi-storey car-parks to accommodate 1,650 cars. The promoters say that the development has the potential to create 2,500 jobs. It estimates that the area involved is currently more than 70 per cent under-utilised.

The massive expansion of retail space provided for in the scheme will match the demand for it, particularly from department stores, according to the company.