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Originally Posted by Expose the lot of them

If they can't get foreign customers, and rely only on customers from Dublin, then it won't last very long. They will all pack up and go home. Problem solved.

If they can get foreign customers, at least one or 2 of them will buy a cup of coffee, rent a car, buy a train ticket and a plane ticket.
I know the Germans are frugal, but I can't see them swimming here with a packed lunch between their teeth and then running all the way to Athlone.

Certainly they will fly in to DUBLIN, hire a car in DUBLIN or take the train if the Chinese arrange a pick-up from the station which they probably will. The point is that there will be very little money spent in Ireland and what little is spent is more likely to be in Dublin, than go to filing the tills of the local gombeen men and women who think that they will make out like bandits on this - they will not . Cannot see the European business people, who will be the clients of the Chinese occupied zone, hanging around Athlone. They will visit the Chinese and hot foot it back to Dublin and in many cases fly in and out on the same day.

The granting of planning permission for this development is awful news, of course, being the short sighted economic gombeen men that we are, we'll be happy to accede to the deal because, 'ah sure der might be a couple of jobs innt', and so we will have gone from taking the queens shilling to taking Mao's yuan.

China are the worst economic imperialists in the world right now and like all imperialists their philosophy is 'take everything and contribute nothing that you absolutely don't have to' .
The Chinese are LOATHE to expatriate a single cent that they don't have to spend outside their own economy, and 'fair trade' is an alien concept which is why they will soon have the largest economy in the world. We've already economically shot ourselves in the foot by handing China our manufacturing base, lock stock and barrel, should we hand them the jobs in this country too?

The Africans are really pissed off with the Chinese at the moment, they are buying up huge farms and mines across the continent to provide food security and raw materials to feed the Chinese boom but won't employ Africans, not even for the infrastructure projects that they have offered the African governments as sweeteners in these sort of deals. They will offer to build a road for example as sweetener to see a deal go through but they will import Chinese labor to build it.

Ok, some very good points raise, well done. Financing is at the heart of this, I think we all agree we should know more about it at planning stage.

What do you think of the Spire planned for the development? I think it will look very cool and will draw visitors from all over the world. The structure is the typical cultural symbol at the centre of all Chinese towns, and will be the second tallest structure in the country.

Permission granted by An Bord Pleanala for Phase 1 today

€175m Asian trade hub in Athlone will create up to 1,500 jobs - RT News

Welcome to Athlone 2020

Of courde there are downsides and risks, but a brave venture - good luck to all involved

Originally Posted by kerdasi amaq

How will ensure that they don't hire Chinese people there? No point creating 1500 jobs for non-nationals.

That's a moronic statement.

People whinge and moan about immigrants not working (much of which is untrue) and then whinge and moan when they might get jobs as a result of something like this... which will presumably support other local jobs and contribute to the tax take etc.

You obviously just want them all to f*** off back to where they came from?

Here is the bizarre website for this. It looks massive but i'm sceptical

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If it will be not Irish banks who will lend money, then it should not be a big problem

Originally Posted by Cassandra Syndrome

China is fooked as well.

At this stage I suspect the world is pretty much fooked with its obsession with infinite growth in a finite world and no real effort whatsoever to control the global population.

Utter madness that will only end badly.