A LANDMARK university campus - beset by delays and rising costs - will be operating fully by early next year.
The head of Ulster University (UU) yesterday shared an update on plans for the next academic year and the `art college' redevelopment.
It said it expects to open to students by September adding that "by the beginning of semester two (January 2022), all lectures, tutorials and all other teaching will have transferred to our new Belfast campus."
The massive city centre development - the largest building project of its kind in the north - was to open in 2018.
The price tag is now estimated at £363.9 million - 43 per cent in excess of the original budget.
In an email, UU Vice-Chancellor Professor Paul Bartholomew said public health indications were encouraging and the university could, with increasing confidence, look to a fuller resumption of normal on-campus operations.
Strong progress on vaccinations, continued low case numbers and relaxation of public health measures, he said, meant the plan was to return to campuses for teaching in semester one, which runs from September until December.
"We are now in the final stages of building our enhanced Belfast campus and look forward to welcoming our staff and students to this incredible new Ulster University space from September 2021," he added.
"It will come online in controlled phases beginning in late summer and continuing into semester one and to enable operational simplicity and maximum responsiveness to any emerging changes in Covid-19 regulations during semester one, the majority of teaching will begin on our Jordanstown campus.
"By the beginning of semester two (January 2022), all lectures, tutorials and all other teaching will have transferred to our new Belfast campus."
