Over €2m spent on Ulster Canal project to date

More than €2 million has been spent on the Ulster Canal project to date, with the tender for the third and final phase to be awarded at the beginning of next week.

That's according to Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Heather Humphreys, who informed fellow constituency colleague, Fianna Fáil's Niamh Smyth of the current status of the project.
Work on the 93km cross-Border waterway running from lower Lough Erne in south Fermanagh, across Cavan and Monaghan and into Armagh began last year.
It was previously announced the three-phase project to develop a 2.5km navigation from Lough Erne to Castle Saunderson would be complete by April 2016.
Waterways Ireland had an allocation of €2.7m its 2016 budget for the Ulster Canal project, comprising of €1m from the department’s own capital allocation to Waterways Ireland of €2.689m, with the balance from the organisation’s own resources.
Responding to the Parliamentary Question, Minister Humphreys told Deputy Smyth that an amount of €2,000,574 has since been spent on the project to date.
But she said that Waterways Ireland has now issued the letter of award in respect of works to complete the third and final phase, Phase 3, of the navigation to Castle Saunderson. Subject to the stand still period, the tender will be awarded by March 20, 2017.
'It is anticipated that a contractor will be on site towards the end of April 2017,' the Minister added.