Ireland's biggest shopping complex has opened its doors to the public for the first time this morning.
The €650 million Dundrum Town Centre in south Dublin will provide jobs for 3,000 people when all three phases are completed in 2008.
The first phase will comprise 90 shops, 25 restaurants, a cinema and a theatre when it is finished. A huge hotel and flats complex will be finished in 2008.
Marks and Spencer will be one of the anchor tenants, employing up to 400 people. Luxury department store Harvey Nichols will create 200 jobs when it opens its boutique branch in September. The 32,000-square-foot outlet will include a food hall and café.
The centre will also house a House of Fraser department store, a Tesco supermarket, high-fashion outlets, restaurants and a large number of smaller retail units.
Boots Chemist is also opening a new flagship store in the centre which will employ up to 60 people.
The Dublin Chamber of Commerce (DCC) today welcomed the opening of Dundrum's new town centre but warned the development would only be maximised when the scheduled improvements to the capacity of the M50 were complete.
DCC policy manager Cian Connaughton said: "All retail developments need properly integrated public transport and infrastructure facilities".
"Having the Luas in place will clearly ease congestion around the area. However, in planning terms for the city, this feels like a first," he said.
Mr Connaughton called on the Minister for Transport to ensure that there are no delays to the introduction of the M50 upgrade and a metro project.
