Shipbuilding returns to Belfast as Harland and Wolff opens a new £157m hall to build three Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships

Navantia UK, which took over the historic Harland and Wolff site, has opened a new 5,000 sq metre fabrication hall as part of a £157m investment across its four UK shipyards. The hall features robotic plasma-cutting technology, new cranes and a mechanised panel line.

The programme is expected to create around 900 skilled jobs and apprenticeships in Belfast.

Northern Ireland Minister Sarah Owen said the MoD spent £460m in the region last year — a figure that works out at £240 per person.

Navantia UK is also refurbishing the two iconic yellow Samson and Goliath cranes that dominate the Belfast skyline.