Construction projects in Northern Ireland are set to benefit from the recent £250 million infrastructure boost provided by Chancellor Philip Hammon in the Autumn Statement.

The £250 million investment will be spread over the next four year and may be used to fund major projects such as the York Street Interchange in Belfast city centre.

Chancellor Hammond also froze fuel duty for a seventh successive year – a measure that is likely to save car driver around £130 each year.

The national living wage has also been increased to £7.50 per house from April, which is a 30 pence rise.

Meanwhile, businesses and universities in Northern Ireland will benefit from the decision to increase funding for innovation and research by £2 billion per year by 2020-21.

Managing Director of the Construction Employers Federation (CEF), John Armstrong, said that the industry had been facing difficult times.

He explained: “The additional £250m of capital expenditure, over the coming four years, announced by the Chancellor is therefore a welcome boost for the local construction industry.

Finance Minister Mairtin O Muilleoir also said the extra funding was “welcome”, but that lower economic forecasts and continued austerity – such as benefit cuts – meant that there was still “turbulence” ahead.

Mr O Muilleoir is to tell the Assembly what he will do with the extra funding next month.

Ahead of the Autumn Statement, it had been billed as one that would help a section of the population known as the ‘just about managing’ (JAMs).

However, overall it was a cautious exercise by the Chancellor, who emphasised that the resulting economic uncertainty from the Brexit vote meant that growth forecasts were being revised down.

Growth is expected to be at 2.1% this year and 1.4% next year – with a trend of about 2% every year through to 2020.