A £650M North-East energy development was one of the most valuable construction contracts awarded nationally last year, according to a new report.

MGT Power’s Tees Renewable Energy Plant, based at Teesport, has been highlighted by industry analyst Barbour ABI.

MGT says the factory will be one the world’s largest biomass power stations when operational, providing electricity for 600,000 homes by burning wood chips and pellets imported predominantly from the US.

It is due to send its first energy to the National Grid in 2020, with tenders understood to be out for piling and sub-contracting work.

Barbour ABI, which provides construction order data for the Office for National Statistics, said the MGT development was the fifth most valuable contract last year at £650m, adding it helped the overall national infrastructure sector grow.

The organisation added the value of UK-wide infrastructure contracts, which include power plants, wind farms and motorway schemes, lifted 1.9 per cent to £19.3bn.

Michael Dall, lead economist at Barbour ABI, said: “Housebuilding was the main component of growth across 2016.

“However, infrastructure cannot be overlooked, with nine out of ten of the biggest projects across all of construction coming from this sector.”

MGT bosses say their factory, overseen by subsidiary MGT Teesside, will create around 100 permanent full-time jobs across port handling and offloading and support at least 600 construction posts.

However, they added hundreds more positions will be strengthened across the local supply chain, with PD Ports’ Teesport base lined up to support the scheme and Stockton energy and process industry company, PX Group, contracted to back construction work.

Darlington’s Whessoe Engineering will also provide assistance from its position within South Korea’s Samsung Construction and Trading, which will build the plant alongside Spain’s Tecnicas Reunidas.

MGT previously played down calls from US organisations and Danish Friends of the Earth members for the project’s joint-owner, Denmark’s pension fund PKA, to pull its financial backing over fears it will impact carbon emissions, damage forests and remove animal habitats.