A STEEL fabrication firm has completed work to help build a £2.5bn passenger terminal at the UK's busiest airport.

Severfield-Watson Structures, based in Thirsk, North Yorkshire, carried out a £50m contract on Heathrow's new Terminal 2.

The company, which employs about 340 workers in the region, designed, manufactured and erected more than 26,000 tonnes of structural steel for the building.

The terminal will open in June next year, and is expected to welcome more than 20 million people every year.

The contract also brought work for Severfield-Watson's sister plant in Lostock, near Bolton, and supported jobs at the group's Atlas Ward factory, in Malton, North Yorkshire, and Fisher Engineering, in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland.

Tony Whitten, Severfield project director, said the deal was the continuation of a successful partnership with Heathrow Airport.

He said: “This project was of huge importance to our business because it safeguarded jobs at our plants.

“But it also helped us build on a longstanding relationship with Heathrow, where we have been working for more than 20 years.”

Airport bosses say the new terminal supported more than 140 companies and substantially more than 10,000 jobs.

The original Terminal 2, opened by the Queen in 1955, was demolished after operating well above capacity for a number of years.

The structure, which was Heathrow's first terminal, was designed to handle 1.2 million passengers every year was welcoming about eight million people when it closed in 2009.

Patrick McLoughlin, Secretary of State for Transport, praised contractors' work, including Severfield-Watson, for their role in transforming the airport.

He also refuted suggestions the project has only supported the South.

He said: “The building of Terminal 2 has delivered real benefits, not just to the South-East but to many regions throughout the country, because it has sourced the necessary skills, expertise, raw materials and services it needs.

“I am proud that we are known for having a high quality, highly-skilled and hard working supply chain.

“Infrastructure, engineering, and construction companies across the UK are sharing the benefits from projects like Terminal 2 and helping to build a stronger economy.”