And with 9,200sq m (98,992sq ft) of space, this is an impressive centre by any standards.

Capable of catering for the most demanding of conferences, the centre will incorporate 27 meeting rooms facilitating over 750 people.

More than six kilometres of fibre-optic cables have been installed, along with 17 built-in 42-inch, interconnected plasma TV screens, 16 drop-down projector screens, 14 custom-designed programmable door signage systems and American plug sockets for US laptops. Other state-of-the-art features include broadband, wi-fi hot-spots, video conferencing, 'smart' white boards, premium IP telephony-based services, satellite links, and . . . even better . . . the centre has a 24-hour AV technician. "Companies are spending a lot of money on conferences and meetings and expect their staff to be productive at them, "says Enda O'Meara, managing director of the Crowne Plaza.

"All our conference rooms are designed to maximise productivity and creativity.

Conference rooms are flooded with natural light, and have air conditioning; lighting and audio visual equipment individually controlled in each room; cuttingedge "smart" white boards that react to touch and are linked to the clients' laptop to allow for attention-grabbing power-point presentations; ergonomically designed chairs; built-in Bose sound systems and sound-proofed rooms.

"These features all add to the experience of a state-of-the-art conference centre that is expected by business clients today, " says O'Meara.

"We have always been forward thinking with regard to our technology purchases for the Crowne Plaza group, " says Christoph Haustein, director of sales and marketing. "The technology we buy is considered 'future proof ' and has been custom-designed specifically for us."

In addition to the new conference centre, a 15m three-star sister hotel, Express by Holiday Inn, is scheduled to open early next month.

The new hotel will be located 50 metres from the Crowne Plaza, and will feature 114 rooms over three floors. The project will create a total of 50 new hospitality industry jobs.

Both the Crowne Plaza Dublin and Express By Holiday Inn Airport Hotels are owned by Clontarf Castle Hotel owners Gerry Houlihan and Aidan Crowe, who claim that their expansion plans along with extra employment provided a major boost to the hospitality sector.