AS our picture shows today, the new university campus for the banks of the Usk in Newport city centre is set to become a reality at last.

The scheme has been mooted for four years but there have been numerous stumbling blocks along the way. The University of Wales, Newport has been cautious in each step in trying to ensure that the project was properly financed and that its exposure to debt in the event of aborting the scheme was not too high.

The injection of £5m in funding each from Newport City Council and Newport Unlimited was a vital clinching factor, as is the eventual sale of the Allt-yr-yn campus in releasing more cash.

So now we see that work is about to begin on what looks from the picture to be a strikingly impressive piece of modern architecture.

This is welcome news, not just for the university, which needs to attract more students over the next few years, but also for the city. Sitting on the riverfront, beside the new footbridge, it will be one of the showcase, signature buildings at the heart of the new city. It will be a symbol of rebirth as well as a home for learning at the highest level. The school of art, media and design is world-renowned and the business school is growing in stature all the time. The building and what goes on inside should be closely linked with the identity of reborn Newport and should be twin sources of pride for its citizens.

Equally, it will be fascinating to see the new dynamic of a large student population in the city centre and what effect this has on its social and economic life.