ENGINEERING services group Amec is close to securing three contracts that will boost its staff numbers.

The group, which has its industrial division in Darlington, is bidding for a Ministry of Defence contract for the North of England that will see it providing construction and infrastructure services for the whole of the region. It currently carries out work for Europe's largest army base, at Catterick Garrison, in North Yorkshire.

Amec is believed to be on the verge of announcing the building of the first power plant to convert household waste into electricity, in alliance with green energy company Compact Power.

Also in the pipeline for Darlington workers is a gas storage project, although the details have yet to be revealed.

The three projects will call for extra staff, including engineers and project managers, but the company could not say exactly how many would be needed until the contracts were announced.

Amec, since moving its emphasis from traditional construction to engineering services, is identifying areas of growth, which include renewable energy and gas storage.

Steve Lee, managing director of the Darlington site, said: "I think the future looks really exciting for Amec in Darlington.

"If you look at the way the business is moving in terms of project management, engineering services and delivery of products, then a lot of these are core skills which we have here in Darlington, within the operation."

Amec has channelled its skills into the energy market, and recently won a multi-million pound maintenance contract with one of its core customers, National Grid Transco.

High voltage overhead lines are a growth area and the company predicts a lot of money will be spent upgrading the distribution network in the coming years.

As Britain moves from being a net exporter of gas to being a net importer, Amec predicts that the way gas storage is dealt with will be a key area for contract wins.

The cost of landfill for local authorities has also risen so high that new technology that Amec is developing with Compact Power, to heat household waste to produce electricity, is becoming more economically viable.

Mr Lee said: "The number of people we employ in this office will increase in the coming months from an engineering and project management point of view because of what we see as the potential for work in the coming months."

During the three years since moving into its office in Yarm Road, Darlington, Amec's operations have created 150 jobs.

Contract wins throughout the Amec group also have an impact on the company's support services operations, based in a separate office in Darlington.

Its support services - which include human resources and IT support for the whole of Amec in the UK - are in the Haughton Road.