A CONSTRUCTION company has won its biggest contract to date.

The MMP Group, of Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, is to build a £6m residential development in Middlesbrough,

It will start work on the housing project, in the town's Cambridge Road, this month, building apartment blocks and housing using the latest construction technology.

Bob Jobson, business development manager for the group's construction division, said the light-steel framework for the development would be built in the factory before being put up on site.

"There is a move in the industry towards off-site construction, mainly because of the shortage of skilled workers in the trade," he said.

"Part of the framework for the development will be made in the factory, in Newton Aycliffe, using recycled steel, and then transported on to the site."

The development will comprise three apartment blocks with 66 two-bedroomed units, three semi-detached houses and the refurbishment of a lodge on the site.

Three of the group's five divisions will be working on the project - Metek Buildings Systems, a leader in steel construction, design, manufacturing and site installation, MMP Construction (NE) and M & M Plasline, which concentrates on plastering, rendering, and dry-lining developments.

The work, which is due to be completed next summer, is being carried out on behalf of JR Property Developments and managed by Harkin Associates, with engineering input from Billinghurst George and Partners.

Jeff Fryer, managing director of the MMP Group, said: "This is an exciting project for us, as it is one of the largest residential projects MMP has undertaken.

"It is also very important for us as a group, as three of our divisions will be working together and the combination of skills and experience of our different divisions will be of benefit to our clients in terms of cost, time and supply chain management."

Other residential projects being undertaken by the MMP Group, which was established in 1986, include converting Claremont School for Young Ladies, in Darlington, into luxury apartments for Darlington Homes.

The company has also restored Thorngate Mill, in Barnard Castle, County Durham, and completed a luxury apartment development in Stanhope Road, Darlington, for Darlington Homes.

Earlier this year the MMP Group launched a campaign to raise £200,000 to build a community centre to help survivors of the Boxing Day tsunami disaster.

The company is in negotiations to buy a piece of land in the Phangnga district of Thailand, north of Phuket.