NORTH-East shipbuilders are hoping to benefit from a £3bn Royal Navy shipbuilding contract.
Two rival consortia are bidding to build two massive aircraft carriers for the Ministry of Defence.
The 60,000 tonne carriers will be the biggest British warships ever built, measuring 950ft and costing £1.5bn each.
BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, Vosper Thornycroft, Northrop Grumman and Rolls-Royce have submitted one bid, while the other consortium includes French firm Thales, Lockheed, Raytheon, Halliburton and Alstom.
The contract will be awarded next year.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article