A CONSTRUCTION company has agreed a deal worth millions of pounds to rebuild homes lost in the Boxing Day tsunami in Asia.

The contract, won by Worldwide Environmental Technologies Holdings, of County Durham, is to supply low-cost, earthquake-resistant building frames, made from lightweight materials, such as steel and polymer concrete, to the worst-affected areas.

The size of the project means Worldwide will have to move from its Stanley base to a bigger factory, in Newton Aycliffe, in the New Year, creating more than 60 jobs in the next year.

The company is also planning to open a factory in Sri Lanka.

Worldwide, which was set up in February, has enlisted the help of UK Trade and Investment. Representatives have visited Sri Lanka several times to meet government officials to discuss how they can help.

The company's commercial director, Ray Johnson, said the multi-million pound project of rebuilding housing and other community centre amenities will take years to complete.

He said: "The design of the houses is simple, but unique, and they can be rapidly erected within three days using local labour. And the company is at an advanced stage of negotiation on several contracts.

"The first 500 homes will be built in the new factory at Newton Aycliffe and then sent out to Sri Lanka. Then we will look to open a factory over there to manufacture the houses, which will create between 50 and 100 jobs.

"Many of the staff we employ over in Sri Lanka will be brought over to the UK to be trained in our new Newton Aycliffe factory."

The company's off-site building techniques are similar to those used by Metek Building Systems, a division of the MMP Group, which is also based in Newton Aycliffe.

Both companies manufacture and quality-test housing frames in factories before they are shipped "flat pack" style. The system creates less building waste and requires fewer skilled workers than building a conventional house.