THE Government's decision to press ahead with plans to build two giant aircraft carriers could be good news for the North-East.

Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon announced yesterday that the Government would press ahead with orders for the sophisticated ships, capable of transporting up to 50 aircraft.

The Government plans to have one carrier in place by 2012 and the second by 2015.

The cost of the carriers is expected to be about £2bn.

The type of carrier is yet to be decided, but two companies, BAE Systems and Thales, are competing for the contracts and are carrying out assessment work.

BAE Systems, which has yards at Govan, Glasgow, and Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, could sub-contract out some of the work, which could be good news for the Swans workforce on the Tyne.

In November, the Defence Procurement Agency confirmed that the Swan Hunter yard on Tyneside had the capability to build the ships.

Cammell Laird's operations at Birkenhead, on Merseyside, have also been identified, but there has been no indication that the company's yard on the Tyne could take part in the work.

The decision to press ahead with plans for the ships follows the Strategic Defence Review two years ago, which concluded that Britain needed new aircraft carriers which were larger than contemporary craft and with enhanced capability.

The new aircraft carriers would replace the ageing Invincible class, now in service with the Royal Navy.

The new ships would be almost three times the size of their predecessors, displacing 45,000 tonnes, compared with 18,000 for the Invincible class.

The last warship built on the Tyne was the Type 23 frigate, HMS Richmond, which left the Swan Hunter yard in 1993.