SUPERMARKET boss Andy Clarke flies into Belfast later this month and could confirm that Asda is to proceed with its first Northern Ireland 'super centre' at the old Howden Sirocco works.
The 16-acre site on the east side of the River Lagan, once home to the largest rope manufacturer in the world, has lain derelict since 1999.
And despite Sirocco being central to a number of redevelopment master plans for the city, they were all scuppered by the recession and property collapse.
Indeed the sprawling brownfield site, despite always having significant investor appeal, has remained largely untouched since it was cleared a decade ago and its owner-ship has changed hands three times.
Its ownership is currently in the hands of PwC, who are acting on behalf of Ulster Bank as administrators for the Carvill Group.
The Irish News understands Asda is keen to press ahead with its first 'super centre' store format at Sirocco.
The American-owned chain has more than 30 such hypermarkets in the UK, typically offering floor space of around 11,000 sq metres (120,000 sq ft), half of which is dedicated to selling non-food items.
Asda has 17 stores in the north employing close to 5,000 staff but doesn't have a presence in Belfast city centre - something it is keen to rectify.
And given that Tesco has announced the closure of two stores nearby in recent weeks, including at Connswater shopping centre, Asda may be about to declare its hand.
A spokesman for the chain confirmed that Mr Clarke is due in Northern Ireland the week after next "for planned store visits".
PwC has been in charge of the Sirocco site for four years and its remit remains to achieve the best possible outcome for main creditor Ulster Bank.
The preferred option of an entire portfolio sale is unlikely but selling off a huge chuck of the land to an anchor retail tenant like Asda would have its merits and could act at the catalyst for further development.
A spokesman for PwC said: "It is not our policy to comment on client issues."
Dunloe Ewart (Ewart Properties) had initially purchased the Sirocco site in 2000 for £23 million and planned to develop 130,000 sq ft of offices, 100 apartments, a 90,000 sq ft retail superstore and 50,000 sq ft of additional retail space.
As property prices spiralled, Ewart sold on the asset to Dunmurry-based housebuilding group Carvill for £40m just five years later (it was a record price-per-acre deal in Northern Ireland at the time).
In 2007 the Carvill Group unveiled plans for a £600 million mixed-use scheme for the site which included 5,000 apartments, retail space including a supermarket and cafes and restaurants, offices, a five-star hotel, leisure facilities, a care home and a nursery. In 2008 an international hotel chain was also said to be lined up for the lavish Sirocco Quays development.
But the property bubble burst that same year and Carvill - once ranked among the most profitable companies in Britain and Ireland - went into administration in May 2011.
Although no development has ever gone ahead on the Sirocco site, the Planning Service says it has always considered an application for a retail superstore.