29.07.20
Mayor Ben Houchen invites businesses to tender for £120m project
Mayor of Tees Valley Ben Houchen is calling on local businesses to tender for a £120m project as part of the 12-month jobs plan.
Firms in Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool are being encouraged to bid for a contract on the former Redcar steelworks site as part of a £120m project.
The new Joint Venture High Voltage Network went out for tender yesterday (July 28) and will create up to 20 construction jobs in its initial phase, with work expected to commence midway through 2021.
The next 12 months will see 19 separate demolitions and 19 individual contracts go to tender across the site, creating 390 jobs, 39 of which will be apprentices. The total number of jobs over the project will be 775 thanks to a total of £393m in investments.
No major investment has been put into the network since the 1970s, making future development plans for the site unlikely without work to replace old and new construct across the network.
This work will facilitate progression of wider projects on the site, such as Net Zero Teesside and the 4.5 million sq ft of the manufacturing space, which could create a total of 14,500 jobs for local people.
Mayor Houchen said “Yesterday, when I set out my 12-month plan for jobs for the former steelworks, I vowed to make sure local workers and local businesses were aware of the opportunities going forward so the jobs we are creating can go to local people.
“Just 24 hours later, we are already putting the first of these new contracts out for tender, and I want to make sure suitable businesses in Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool are aware of the work and can apply accordingly through our new teesworks.co.uk website.
“As part of our comprehensive development plans across the Teesworks site, we must create a sustainable high-voltage network to meet the future demand of the businesses we’re attracting to the site such as Net Zero Teesside.
“Minimal power infrastructure investment has been made over the past 50 years so we are going to put that right with this critical improvement and expansion in the power network
“We have already created 208 local jobs on the site, but this is just the beginning. Over the next year, we will go on to create hundreds more real jobs for real people in our communities, and today’s announcement is another huge step in my plan for local jobs for local people in Teesside, Darlington and Hartlepool.
“We own the land, we have the keys, the diggers are in place and we are getting on with the job we promised to the former steelworkers, some of which are already back on site in new jobs, making it a place for them to be proud of again.”
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