SWAN Hunter bosses last night said that no delay had been announced on a £2.9bn defence contract, which could bring 1,500 jobs to Teesside and Tyneside.

The Royal Navy's commander in chief, Fleet Admiral Sir Jonathan Band, said last night he was confident the ships would be delivered, despite reports that orders for the two aircraft carriers, capable of carrying 40 to 50 fighter jets, might have to be modified to cut costs.

Swan Hunter commercial director Norman Brownell said although no date had been set by the Ministry of Defence, he had not been told of any possible delays.

He said that even if there was a delay, the company was bidding for commercial work to keep jobs safe until the contract went ahead.

Earlier this month, it was revealed that the cost of the Iraq war would mean cutbacks in defence spending that could affect the project.

The MoD is preparing to make cuts to the budgets for the aircraft carriers.

But Mr Brownell said the shipbuilders hoped to get the same amount of business from the contract, even if smaller ships were being built.

"From the Tyneside point of view, we need work from the end of our current contract until the start of this next one," he said.

"We are extremely busy trying to find work for that gap.

"That is in addition to the normal offshore work we are chasing."

He said the Navy needed significantly bigger aircraft carriers to fulfil its modern warfare role.

Admiral Band told a press conference in Portsmouth that he was confident "in the widest sense" that the carriers would be delivered.

''I'm confident we will get a very exciting aviation platform to project significant numbers of new aircraft and existing helicopters.''

Admiral Band said plans for the vessels were being assessed by the MoD before final orders were placed next Spring.