A CONTRACT worth £105m has been awarded for a delayed project at a North-East university.

Durham University has awarded the contract to build two new colleges in the city to Interserve.

The university is building the colleges at the former Mount Oswald golf course, in South Road.

They will house 1,000 students from John Snow College, which is moving to Durham from Stockton, and a new yet-to-be-named one.

It had been planned that they would be open for the start of the 2019 academic year but the project will now not be complete until 2020.

Interserve will design, build, finance and operate the facilities over a 51-year-period, acting as part of a consortium that includes asset management firm Equitix and Campus Living Villages UK, a developer of student accommodation.

Vice-chancellor professor Stuart Corbridge said: “The development of two college facilities at Mount Oswald, including one brand new college and a purpose-built new home for our John Snow College, is a key project in delivering a wider student experience as good as anywhere in the world.”

Debbie White, Interserve’s chief executive, said: “We are delighted to have reached financial close on this project and look forward to starting on site imminently.

“This project builds on our extensive experience in the further education sector and our strong 15-year relationship with Durham University.”

Interserve, which made a £6m loss in the half-year ended June 30, announced last week that it swung to a loss as it continued to aim for £50 million in cost savings.