A scheme to transform Liverpool's Kings Dock into a 9,500-seater waterfront arena has got the final go-ahead.

The £142m construction of the new Kings Waterfront arena and convention centre will start next month, Liverpool City Council said on Tuesday.

It will also include a multi-storey car park and a hotel development.

Liverpool City Council leader Mike Storey said the project would be the centrepiece of the city's Capital of Culture year in 2008.

"This is great news for Liverpool," he said.

"It's been a long and complicated journey, but I'm delighted that our dream for a world-class arena on the waterfront is now becoming a reality.

We are on course to deliver a truly world-class facility


Sir David Henshaw, Liverpool City Council



"The building blocks are all in place and I'm looking forward to work starting on a facility that the region has needed for a long time."

Chief Executive, Sir David Henshaw, said: "We have put together a sound financial package which protects the interests of council taxpayers.

"We are on course to deliver a truly world-class facility, which will make Kings Waterfront one of the great international destinations for business and leisure."

The project is being funded from four sources: European Union Objective One (£50m), English Partnerships (£67m), Northwest Development Agency (£14m), and Liverpool City Council (£11m).

Infrastructure work on the site started in June, but completion of the latest contract agreement means that the main contract can now go ahead.

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