"There is £200 million worth of investment about to start here, which will revolutionise the centre of this town," said the newly-elected president of Sligo Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr Jim Lawlor, pride ringing in his voice. It will be a development of shops, stores, apartments and multi-storey car park. It will provide jobs and an excellent service.
He promised full consultation with the public. The discussions and consultations will be completed at the end of July. The planning applications will then be considered.
"I find it very invigorating to be president of the chamber at this important and exciting time," he said.
The idea is to build from the inside, filling in all the older areas and then concentrating on the perimeter.
"We have looked at other cities around the world where they allowed peripheral development and it resulted in the heart of the city moving to the outskirts.
"We want to develop the centre here and then move outwards . . . We saw what happened in Pittsburgh and Sheffield, where they moved out to the perimeters and then ended up with a doughnut effect. We wanted to avoid that."
For an outsider arriving in the town, Sligo shows all the hallmarks of the Celtic Tiger. Massive development work has been carried out in recent years with the building of Rockwood Parade, a magnificent example of tasteful construction.
This has become the town's Left Bank, or Temple Bar, an area built along the Garavogue river. It bustles with restaurants, cafes, pubs, apartments, boutiques and numerous small shops. It is a little work of art.
When one thinks of the dereliction that used to be there, the extent of the achievement is put in clear perspective. Sligo's planners got a chance to do something really worthwhile for posterity and they did not blow it.
The corporation gets its fair share of criticism, but in this case it is generally accepted that it was spot on. Rockwood Parade is a tremendous asset to the town.
Ironically, Mr Lawlor is not a Sligo man: he is Dublin-born. But he certainly buzzes with enthusiasm and ideas for the town he made his home over 30 years ago.
This is the second time he has been elected president. He last held the post in 1996. He is the first person since the chamber was founded in 1923 to hold this distinction.
His delight when he tells you that after years of campaigning Sligo is getting its main rail line upgraded clearly reflects his commitment. This will be of huge benefit and will considerably reduce travelling time.
The news has been well received, and the work should be completed by 2001.
Mr Lawlor also points to the success of Sligo Airport, at Strandhill, five miles outside the town. Some months ago Aer Lingus pulled out and was replaced by Aer Arann.
This has resulted in extra flights and an increase in passengers. A large enterprise park is being developed beside the airport.
His big regret at present is that the National Roads Authority (NRA) has decided that there will be no motorway to the north-west. The NRA plans to develop five new motorways or dual carriageways linking Dublin to Galway, Limerick, Cork, Waterford and the Border. The north-west is to lose out.
This could have a detrimental effect on the future growth of the region. However, the National Roads Authority says that the region will be served by several high-quality routes which will cater adequately for traffic volumes.
Naturally this has gone down like a lead balloon in Sligo. A campaign is under way to get that decision reversed.
While Mr Lawlor presents a highly optimistic picture of the development of the town, the Sligo Champion, in a recent editorial, said that, despite the progress, the impression remained that the town had been consigned to second-class citizenship when it came to achieving the kind of Government recognition an urban centre of its size and strategic location merited.
Asked what he thought of that view, Mr Lawlor said he believed progress was being made and it was not possible to please everyone. He agreed that it was a major disadvantage to have no Cabinet Minister in the area.
"This is especially so at election time when there may be a few spare bob around; we lose out on that."
He agreed that traffic congestion was a major problem, but said the long drawn-out saga of the inner relief road seemed to be coming to a conclusion.
A public hearing had been held, and the Department of the Environment inspector who had heard the appeal had made his recommendation to the Minister. They were now awaiting the Minister's decision.
"We need the inner relief road, but the town has developed so much since the road was mooted that we now need an outer ring road," he said.