A MULTI-MILLION pound business park on the edge of Darlington is set to be officially unveiled today, with the promise it will create 2,000 jobs.

The town's MP, Alan Milburn, will be among a host of dignitaries on site to mark the occasion at Morton Palms, which is hoped to attract a number of major investors.

And there was further good news on the business front. Hopes rose that a deal could save hundreds of North-East workers at troubled power company Enron, and a deal securing the future of Filtronic's microchip plant in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, will be signed later today.

In Darlington, One NorthEast and the borough council are jointly funding a £1.5m development of a 28-acre fully-serviced site, directly adjacent to the A66 on the southern outskirts of the town.

The surrounding area has steadily flourished since 1995, when the £16m Morrisons superstore was built, followed by a McDonald's drive-through and the Morton Park Business Training Centre, which was opened by the Prime Minister, Tony Blair.

Other big names to have invested in the area include Orange, Darlington Building Society and B&Q.

Woodlands, County Durham's first private hospital opened in the summer, and a hotel complex is being built in the area.

Meanwhile, American conglomerate Enron, which employs 900 people in the North-East, is facing the largest bankruptcy ever seen in the US following the collapse of a multi-billion bid from rival Dynergy.

Last night, PriceWaterhouseCoopers was appointed administrator at the European holding company of the business. But the administration order did not include Enron's Teesside businesses, giving rise to speculation that one, or all four, of the regional electricity companies which currently hold a 50 per cent stake, could be preparing to take over.

Union leaders were last night seeking urgent talks with Enron about the collapse of its business and the effect on its 3,700 UK workers.

At the Filtronic microchip factory, which employs more than 100 people, capacity will be boosted following the multi-million pound joint agreement with the American company M/A-Com and BAe Systems Avionics.

West Yorkshire-based Filtronic bought the high-tech plant - opened exactly ten years ago by the Queen - from Fujitsu two years ago.

But the company quickly ran into financial difficulties with costs running at more than £1m a month, and had been seeking a financial "white knight" to come to its rescue.

An agreement will allow Filtronic to press ahead with plans to make Newton Aycliffe a key supplier to mobile phone handset manufacturers.