Steve Keyworth, managing director of McNulty Offshore, said: This will certainly both safeguard jobs and create work.
There are currently about 400 men in the yard and I should imagine that number will rise to about 600 during the course of the contract, which is due to last about a year.
We will start cutting steel for the contract within the next few weeks, and engineering work is already under way.
The Greater Gabbard development will incorporates 140 wind turbines, which is expected to cut the UK’s CO2 emissions by one million tonnes a year. The development will genearate enough electricity to power more than 415,000 homes,
The scheme is part of the Government’s long-term strategy to generate 20% of the UK’s electricity supply from renewable energy by 2020.
John Willcock, director of Siemens Energy major projects, said: Siemens continues to be a major employer in the north east, so securing a highly skilled partner in the region is a priority for us.
