Belfast City Council has said it is on course to double a target of bringing £1bn worth of investment to the city.

Chief executive Suzanne Wylie made the comments during an event in the city on Tuesday linked to MIPIM 2019 held in Cannes.

The Belfast Telegraph revealed this week that the City Council spent £80,000 sending a delegation to the world's largest international property investment conference in the south of France during March.

Five other Northern Ireland councils spent a combined £42,300 on the excursion.

But Ms Wylie claimed events like MIPIM had helped attract hundreds of millions of pounds worth of investment into Belfast.

"In 2016, as a council we set an ambitious target of bringing £1bn of investment in regeneration and commercial property development to Belfast," she said. "Now, just three years down the line, we're on course to double that target.

"Today, it's clear to see how far we've progressed and how much regeneration is still taking place.

"Just look at the number of cranes on the skyline again. This volume of regeneration is thanks to strong collaboration between the private and public sectors.

"And if we want to continue securing investment in Belfast, it's imperative we work together to market our compelling proposition, and we have the industry and technical knowledge to back it up - which is why initiatives like MIPIM are so important."

Belfast Telegraph