EIGHT thousand jobs are dependent on regional development agency One NorthEast securing £16m in grant aid, The Northern Echo has learned.

That would be the cost of vital infrastructure work which would guarantee the future of steelmaking on Teesside.

The money is needed by Corus UK's Teesside Cast Products (TCP) division.

The investment would be used to upgrade facilities at Tees Port to help it raise its steel transporting capacity from its present maximum of 1.3 million tonnes a year to more than 2.5million tonnes, which Corus is hoping to be exporting from 2005.

Finance is also needed to restore a derelict wharf on Corus land at Redcar, which would give it additional export capability.

In total, the two sites will account for practically all of the 3.5 million tonnes TCP will need to sell to other firms in the wake of the decision by its parent group that Teesside steel is no longer needed for internal use.

A wide range of private and public sector bodies are working hard behind the scenes to find a solution to the problem.

But they must first be convinced that TCP has a viable future.

Ian Forman, director of TCP, told The Northern Echo: "Eight thousand job losses is something nobody wants to countenance.

"We are having to convince Tees Port and One North- East that we do have a viable future.

"If they do not help things, it probably means we could fail."

One NorthEast refused to say if the money needed could be secured.

Alan Clarke, chief executive of One NorthEast, said: "One NorthEast along with other key partners, including Corus, are involved in confidential discussion in order to formulate a strategy to help to secure the future of the steel industry in the North-East.

"These discussions are still at an early stage and are being considered within the context of the wider Tees Valley vision for the regeneration of the area."

Martyn Pellew, group development director of PD Ports, Logistics and Shipping, owners of Tees Port, said there was a vested interest in helping TCP achieve its aims.

"We are all sitting and hoping this will be a very successful plan.

"If it is, we not only save the steel works, we will provide great impetus for the region and the port."