The Northern Ireland Science Park will expand, add 5,000 new jobs and three new buildings. As a result, the NISP will grow by 1 million square feet. This is part of a ten-year plan for the technology hub, which also targets £100m investment.
The NISP will also get a new name – Catalyst Inc. Norman Apsley, chief executive of Catalyst Inc, says the name reflects the NISP's ambitions.
“We are confident that this exciting phase of our development will accelerate the attraction of international companies to Northern Ireland and continue to actively support the growth of indigenous companies. Catalyst Inc is built upon the deep belief that in Northern Ireland we have a community of innovators so powerful its people can change the world, ” he said.
The not-for-profit Science Park has campuses in Belfast, Derry-Londonderry, Letterkenny and Ballymena, with a total 160 companies. All the tenants are in the science, technology and knowledge based industries. These include Citi, Novosco, Dow, Path XL, Wurkhouse, Taggled, Automated Intelligence and IBM.
The NISP has exceeded targets and growth expectations. Tenants have achieved an impressive average of 30 percent per year. Furthermore, the Science Park has added a total of 2, 600 jobs to Northern Ireland’s economy.
Catalyst Inc. has been a great success for Derry and the local economy. Looking forward to the next phase and continued success.