THE first steps have been taken towards the development of a £100 million visitor attraction to bring the story of Titanic 'home' to Belfast. Belfast City Council and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board this week have been given first sight of a vision for the Titanic Signature Project ­ an iconic, world-class attraction bringing together all the key historic sites associated with Titanic.

The detailed concept, and accompanying economic feasibility study, were presented in a report to Belfast City Council's Tourism Sub-Committee Committee, and will be presented to the full Council on September 1. Commenting on the overall concept, Councillor Diane Dodds, Chairman of Belfast City Council's Tourism Sub-Committee pointed out that, over the past year, Belfast City Council and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) had taken on the challenge of bringing a Titanic attraction to life.

"The Council's goal of marking Titanic's birthplace in the ship's home city is now one step closer. "Finally and rightfully the city that gave birth to the ship has begun to acknowledge its part in the tale: this concept would celebrate the achievement that was Titanic, while also commemorating the tragedy and educating the world about our city's role in the Titanic story," said Councillor Dodds.

Commenting on the report, Alan Clarke, NITB Chief Executive said that the completion of this report means that Belfast is closer to establishing a world class attraction that will compete against the best in the world. "Over the past nine months, a widespread consultation process has garneredsupport from all quarters and has shown that an attraction based on the theme of Titanic holds great economic, cultural and regeneration opportunities for all of Northern Ireland. The concept captures the imagination of people throughout Northern Ireland and interest within theinternational marketplace."

The concept put forward to the Council and Tourist Board would encompass and safeguard all the listed areas within Titanic Quarter associated with the world's most famous ocean liner.

It envisages a centrepiece building ­ three times the size of the City Hall ­ based on the slipway where Titanic and her sister ships were built. The

adjacent Harland and Wolff Drawing Offices, the Hamilton and Alexander Dry Docks also are included, while the Thompson Dry Dock would be brought back to life with the creation of a OGhost Ship' ­ a unique light-sculpture of the ship that would be visible across the Belfast harbour skyline. A large-scale industrial sculpture park would sit alongside a hotel, conference and convention centre.

The report outlining the concept has involved extensive input from the public and private sector as well as the community. Suggestions from the general public have included ideas and support for the project from as far apart as Australia and the United States.

The estimated cost of the conceptualised project ­ which would cover not only the story of the design, conception, building and fate of the world's best known ship, but also Belfast's maritime and industrial heritage ­ would be in excess of £100 million.

The iconic building at the centre of the concept would involve the partial re-creation of the great steel Arrol gantries, which were specially built to allow for the construction of the Olympic class liners, of which Titanic was one. The iconic structure would cover a total of 11 acres and include:

- a series of large galleries using a combination of objects, models, technology and the full spectrum of communications media to relate the stories of industrial Belfast, shipbuilding and the Titanic;

- an archive of Belfast and Northern Ireland in the industrial age, with emphasis on shipbuilding;

- an education centre;

- a large exhibition area for temporary exhibitions and additional attractions;

- a Titanic-themed restaurant, snack bar and retail outlet;

- a conference facility and a Titanic-themed banqueting facility.

The central iconic attraction also would be linked with the other historical sites associated with the Titanic story, running for more than a mile along the shore of Belfast Lough, thus safeguarding all the listed areas within Titanic Quarter.