THE once-mighty North-East shipbuilding industry could take a significant share of the spoils of a £2.9bn project to build two aircraft carriers.

BAE Systems is heading a consortium bidding to be prime contractor in the project, which is likely to create 8,000 jobs, and yesterday the company outlined its plans.

It is competing against the French-owned company, Thales, for the contracts for the two massive aircraft carriers, which would be the biggest warships the UK has ever built.

They will replace the current floating airbases, Illustrious, Invincible and Ark Royal.

Measuring 290m long, weighing 50,000 tonnes and each with a full fighting crew of 1,400 personnel, each new carrier will dwarf the present-day trio.

The proposed craft would each be constructed in six separate modules, creating 8,000 jobs for several years, with the vessels due to go into service with the Royal Navy by 2012 and 2015 respectively.

Nigel Stewart, BAE's managing director of the Future Carrier project, said: "We don't have a single yard with all the resources or capability to build the carriers.

"The only approach is to engage the whole of the UK shipbuilding capability. They must help us to build a long-term future for the industry."

David Bowles, chief executive of Northern Defence Industries, said he was hopeful that the North-East would attract the lion's share of the work.

"We are talking to BAE Systems to make sure that the North-East gets more than its fair share of the project," he said.

"Our objective is to make sure suppliers get as much of this as they can, and BAE Systems has indicated to me that the North-East is likely to benefit substantially.

"There are two companies bidding at the moment, and we are working with both."

Mr Bowles said an obvious choice would be Tyneside's famous Swan Hunter yard.

He said: "I would anticipate that Swan Hunter would benefit considerably, and I suspect that other big companies would benefit as well."

Davey Hall, regional secretary of the engineering union, Amicus, said: "North-East workers have proved themselves time and time again and we are confident that once the contract is won, it will be allocated to the North-East."