Ulster Unionist Party Deputy Leader Diana Armstrong has called for certainty over the delivery of the A4 Enniskillen Southern Bypass. The Fermanagh and South Tyrone MLA was responding to the Department for Infrastructure's Notice of Intention to Award the contract for the scheme.

Armstrong said that while any movement on the bypass was welcome, people in Fermanagh had heard positive words about the project for many years and were entitled to remain cautious. She noted that a Notice of Intention to Award is not the same as a contract being awarded, and it is certainly not the same as construction beginning.

The project remains dependent on the outcome of the A5 legal appeal and the successful completion of the procurement process. Armstrong also welcomed the inclusion of the scheme in the draft Budget, but said people now needed certainty over funding, certainty over the procurement timetable, and ultimately a clear date for work to begin.

After previous funding was returned, Armstrong said no one should be rushing to declare victory. The test for the Department would not be another announcement, but whether a contract is finally signed and construction is underway.

Armstrong added that the bypass should not become a pre-election announcement. She said she would continue to press the Infrastructure Minister for answers on the remaining barriers to the project. The people of Fermanagh deserve more than another promise that the bypass is just around the corner, she said.