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(Image: Arwyn Roberts)

The Pontio Arts & Innovation Centre will be open very soon - and those behind the scheme will be hoping it proves worth the wait.

The project in all has taken seven years. It was built on the site of Theatr Gwynedd, which was opened in 1975 by University College of North Wales (later Bangor University).

When the theatre closed in 2008, plans were set in motion for the new scheme.

Design work on the new centre, then said to cost around £35m, started after a major cash injection was confirmed by the Welsh Assembly Government in early 2009. and the initial plans were unveiled in early 2010.

Named Pontio, Welsh for “to bridge”, officials hope the project will bridge the university with the Bangor community.

Demolition began in July 2010 and the work and preparing the ground for the new building took nearly two years.

Construction work on the new building began in late 2012 and University officials hoped it would be complete by mid 2014.

But faced with construction delays, which have not been publicly revealed, forced a postponement of the official opening until late 2015.

The seven year wait surely makes it one of Wales’ longest running building projects. Here are some other major construction projects from Wales and around the world which didn’t take quite so long to complete.

Empire State Building, New York

(Image: AP Photo/Julio Cortez)

Excavation of the site in New York’s Fifth Avenue began on January 22, 1930. The project involved 3,400 workers and according to official accounts, five workers died during the construction.

The Empire State Building rises to 1,250ft at the 102nd floor, and including the 203 feet pinnacle, its full height reaches 1,453ft. The building has 85 stories of commercial and office space.

Construction work was completed on April 11, 1931, 12 days ahead of schedule.

Caernarfon Castle, Caernarfon

There was a motte-and-bailey castle in the town of Caernarfon from the late 11th century until 1283 when King Edward I of England began replacing it with the current stone structure.

The Edwardian town and castle acted as the administrative centre of North Wales and as a result the defences were built on a grand scale.

While the castle was under construction, town walls were built around Caernarfon. The work cost between £20,000 and £25,000 from the start until the end of work in 1330.

The Liver Building, Liverpool

In 1907 the Royal Liver Group had over 6,000 employees and given the need for larger premises the company gave the go-ahead for the construction of a new head office.

Designed by Walter Aubrey Thomas, the foundation stone for the building was laid in May 1908 and in July 1911, just three years the building was officially opened by Lord Sheffield.

The building became the first major structure in Britain, and one of the first buildings in the world, to be constructed using reinforced concrete and given the building’s radical design was considered by some to be impossible to build.

Menai Suspension Bridge, Anglesey

(Image: Arwyn Roberts)

Before the bridge was built Anglesey had no fixed connection to the mainland and all movements to and from Anglesey were by ferry across the fast flowing and dangerous waters of the Menai Strait.

Thomas Telford was engaged to complete a survey of the route from London to Holyhead, and he proposed that a bridge should be built over the Menai Strait from a point near Bangor. The bridge would have to be high enough to allow the passage of tall ships and Telford proposed a suspension bridge should be built.

Construction of the bridge, to Telford’s design, began in 1819 with the towers on either side of the strait. These were followed by 16 chain cables supporting the 580-foot span.

The bridge was opened to much fanfare in January 1826.

Taj Mahal, India

The Taj Mahal in Agra, India was commissioned in 1632 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan to house the tomb of his favourite wife Mumtaz Mahal.

Construction of the mausoleum was essentially completed in 1643 but work continued on other phases of the project for an additional ten years.

The Taj Mahal complex is believed to have been completed in its entirety in 1653 . The construction project employed around 20,000 people.

Millenium Centre, Cardiff

Construction on the building in Cardiff Bay began in February 2002, the main contractor being Sir Robert McAlpine Ltd.

The architect’s concept of the building was a building that expressed “Welshness” and was instantly recognisable.

The building was designed to reflect the many different parts of Wales with local Welsh materials that dominate its history: slate, metal, wood and glass.

The building was officially opened on the weekend of the 26-28 November 2004. The ceremony was organised by Bryn Terfel, the creative director of the whole opening weekend.

Snowdon Mountain Railway, Llanberis

The Snowdon Mountain Railway is a narrow gauge rack and pinion mountain railway that runs five miles from Llanberis to the summit of Snowdon.

The railway was constructed between December 1894, when the first sod was cut by Enid Assheton-Smith (after whom locomotive No.2 was named), and February 1896, at a total cost of £63,800 (£6,594,000 in 2015).

The SMR is the only public rack and pinion railway in the United Kingdom and after more than 100 years of operation remains a popular tourist attraction.