SDLP East Derry Assembly Member, John Dallat, has expressed his optimism for plans for the development of the gas supply in the North West.
He said: "This is the first step in a process that I have been campaigning for a long time. At present, Ballykelly and Greysteel lie outside Firmus Energy's existing development plan so to see them included in future development is very promising.
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"Ballykelly includes the former army barracks where there had been high expectations that it would attract a large number of potential inward investors.
"Sadly in the current financial year only one US-based company visited the site. This lack of interest is a clear indication that much more needs to be done to maximise the potential for this 700 acre site and prevent it from deteriorating into a wilderness.
"It is my view that a special economic task force must be set up to identify what needs to be done to bring more jobs to this economic black spot which has haemorrhaged thousands of jobs over the last twenty years, jobs that have not been replaced."
(CD/JP)
