A CIVIL engineer is carrying out £3m work to support a green energy development.

The Owen Pugh Group has been appointed to build roads and drainage at the Cramlington Power Plant, in Northumberland.

Bosses say the work on the eight-hectare site will take a year, with the factory due to open by the end of next year.

Owen Pugh, which runs a drainage operation in Middlesbrough, was appointed by Danish principal contractor, Burmeister & Wain Scandinavian Contractor (BWSC).

Jamie Macleod, site agent for Owen Pugh Civil Engineering, said the firm is delighted with its coup.

He said: “As a local business working with an international client, we’ve been able to furnish BWSC with our knowledge and expertise to progress this scheme.

“We’ve enlisted specialists from across all areas of the Owen Pugh business including construction, earthworks and drainage to ensure we deliver on time and on budget.”

Jonas Jacobsen, department manager for BWSC’s civil works construction department, said Owen Pugh’s reputation put it ahead of rivals.

He added: “The conditions on site are challenging, and we need a team of contractors who are flexible and able to perform very high quality works in a short period of time.

“We are therefore pleased to be working with Owen Pugh.”

The Cramlington plant is being built by Cramlington Renewable Energy Developments, a company made up of Estover Energy, John Laing and UK Green Investment Bank.

It is expected to generate electricity to the public grid and heat for two local pharmaceutical companies.

Earlier this year, Owen Pugh, which is headquartered in Dudley, near Cramlington, Northumberland, and employs more than 400 people, revealed it had revamped operations to build on record orders, setting up Owen Pugh Civil Engineering and Owen Pugh Services.

Officials say they will improve customer service by drawing together the company’s varied divisions.

In the overhaul, the business’ existing Owen Pugh GDC arm has been renamed Owen Pugh Civil Engineering and will deliver a variety of projects, from drainage to earthworks and demolition.

Owen Pugh Services is made up of the firm’s aggregate operation, at Marsden Quarry, South Tyneside, Opal Testing Services, which provides soil testing and site investigation, and Owen Pugh Drain Services, in Middlesbrough.

John Dickson, chairman, added: “Having experienced some challenging times, as a result of the recession and the collapse of major built environment businesses, we’ve seen optimism return and stalled schemes start to get underway.

“We are starting to reap the benefits and are working on projects, from highways schemes to housing developments and industrial projects, right across the region and into North Yorkshire.”