HUNDREDS of North-East contractors are vying with rivals from across the world as competition hots up to build and fit-out a new train factory.
 
More than 700 firms – from caterers to plumbers – are in the running to supply Hitachi’s manufacturing plant in Aycliffe, County Durham – with about half of them from the North-East.

When building work starts later this year the Amazon Park site will host one of the biggest construction projects in Britain as former farmland is transformed into a state-of-the-art manufacturing site complete with a research and development department and test track.

The factory will employ 730 workers when it opens in 2016. It is expected that the construction phase will support 200 jobs and hundreds more will be created in the supply chain.

Bosses at the Japanese company, who are about to close applications to potential suppliers, said they were delighted with the response so far, especially from local firms.

Hitachi and Newcastle-based developer Merchant Place Developments want to hand deals to as many North-East firms as possible but they stressed that all bidders will have to meet strict quality and cost guidelines.

Hitachi has been contacting the some 1,000 firms that expressed interest following supplier events in 2011 and whittled the list down to 730 contenders. Suppliers from as far afield as the US and Japan are bidding to play a part in the landmark project.  

On Friday at the Xcel Centre in Aycliffe, Hitachi gave MPs and business leaders a detailed update of its plans.

It confirmed that three trains will be built in Japan next year which will become the template for the Super Express trains that will be made in the North-East.

Labout MP Phil Wilson, who was instrumental in Hitachi chosing to build the plant in Aycliffe, said: "I was very impressed by how thorough and professional Hitachi's plans are.

"This is a fantastic chance for North-East firms to become part of one of the biggest business developments in our region for a generation."

In the meantime, Hitachi has announced it will build Vietnam's first urban railway in Ho Chi Minh City.

The project is valued at £245m, and is expected to start operation in 2018.

Hitachi will deliver trains, ticketing machines, communications and signalling systems. 

Vietnam has seen a rapid increase in traffic, and public transport infrastructure is needed to ease congestion, Hitachi said.

The company plans to expand sales activities for urban railway projects in other South East Asian countries.