By Martin Walker
Phil Wilson has told Aycliffe Today he expects the long-awaited Hitachi deal to be officially signed within weeks.
But he insists the signing of the contract is just a formality.
Mr Wilson is excited about the prospect of trains rolling off Hitachi’s production line at the new Aycliffe factory by 2015.
He also insists local companies, as well as some from outside the region, will benefit from the new site.
Mr Wilson was answering questions from Aycliffe Today readers during an exclusive two-part video feature.
Tony Travis asked “there’s been a lot of rumours about Hitachi and the deal not being signed yet – what’s happening with it and when can we expect construction to start?”
Mr Wilson said: “We’re talking about a multi-billion-pound contract so there’s all sorts of things to get in place.
“But the contract is just a formality as far as I see it. I expect it to go through in a matter of weeks, maybe May time.
“I’d expect them to start building the factory towards the back end of this year, the beginning of next.
“But the deadline you’ve got to think about is 2015, because that’s when the trains have to start coming off the conveyor belt, and that’s only three years away.”
Malcolm Scott then asked the MP if local firms and suppliers in Aycliffe benefit, or will Hitachi source from outside the region.
“I think there’ll be a bit of both,” answered Mr Wilson.
“One of the reasons they came here was connectivity to the East coast mainline, the skills are here and I would have thought they will use local suppliers.
“It’s a massive supply chain. They anticipate thousands of jobs in the supply chain.
“A lot of them will be in the region, a lot of them local, but they may have to get othr suppliers from outside the region as well which isn’t such a bad thing if it’s maintaining jobs in Newton Aycliffe.”
Go to our Video Vault to see the two-part interview with Mr Wilson