AN engineering firm employing hundreds of North-East workers has secured a deal to support Poland’s first nuclear power plant development for more than ten years.

Amec, which has more than 400 staff in Darlington, is working with PGE EJ1, a subsidiary of Polish state-controlled PGE Polska Grupa Energetyczna SA.

The contract will be worth £39m to Amec, rising to about £255m if all optional work is undertaken over the ten years.

The Polish government wants the first plant, capable of producing approximately 3,000 megawatts of electricity, to be operational by 2024.

Clive White, president of Amec’s European clean energy business, said: “This is a major step forward in our strategy to grow our nuclear engineering business internationally.”

The Northern Echo understands the contract will not involve workers from Darlington, which is Amec’s European engineering headquarters.