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Mr Dodds was speaking during a visit to the Model School for Girls project in North Belfast.
The project, which is being procured under the Private Finance Initiative (PFI), and constructed by local firms, involves the complete design and construction of the new Model School for Girls, which will cater for 950 pupils.
It is one of five schools in Belfast that form the first phase of what will be a 7-10 year partnership with the Belfast Education & Library Board.
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The new school is to be built on the existing school playing fields and after construction and decant, the existing school will be demolished to allow construction of new sports facilities.
Mr Dodds said: "The importance of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to the local economy cannot be overstated. They make up the vast majority of local businesses and create employment right across Northern Ireland.
"I am therefore pleased to see their participation in this strategic partnership with the Belfast Education and Library Board.
"Not only do such partnerships speed up the tendering process and help accelerate procurement spend, they also encourage smaller firms to work together to secure larger contracts," he said.
The design and construction of this new Model School for Girls, which is being procured under the Strategic Partnership Agreement between the Belfast Education and Library Board and Amey FMP, involves many local firms, including Farrans (Construction) Ltd, McAdam Design, Caldwell Consulting, MWA Partnership Ltd, and Mott MacDonald.
The majority of the sub-contractors are also locally based.
(PR/JM)
