It was announced today that the Ireland Strategic Investment Fund (ISIF) is to provide a debt facility of approx €50m to Hines Ireland to fund construction of essential enabling infrastructure at the Cherrywood SDZ (Strategic Development Zone) in south Dublin. 
 
The ISIF facility will directly facilitate supporting infrastructure (such as roads, waste and utilities) which will enable the planned development of over 4,000 residential units on the Hines lands. This infrastructure, which is already under construction, will also be a key catalyst for the overall Cherrywood development which is targeting over 8,000 new residential units across the entire SDZ.
 
The SDZ designation requires certain enabling infrastructure to be put in place before residential and commercial development can take place. The physical infrastructure identified in the planning scheme includes water and drainage, roads and transportation, utilities and ICT, energy and waste management.  The required green infrastructure includes natural green spaces, amenities, parks and plazas.
 
Hines Ireland, as the largest landowner at Cherrywood, will use the ISIF facility to lead infrastructural development in the SDZ, where over 4,000 units will be built.
 
Speaking this week, Head of Infrastructure and Credit Investments at ISIF, Donal Murphy said, "This €50m debt facility further demonstrates ISIF’s focus on commercial investments that are designed to support economic impact and employment in Ireland, and in this instance which have a strong ability to help ease the housing supply shortage through commercial investments."

He added, "We have already committed over €400m on commercial terms to funding the construction of thousands of new homes. But this investment is significant because it shows that we are willing to also fund key infrastructure, such as utilities and roads, which is needed to make developments such as these 4,000 new homes in Cherrywood viable."

Source: www.businessworld.ie