A total of 53 contractors from major industry players such as Costain and Royal BAM to smaller regional outfits such as Appleridge and Bethell have won places on a four-year public sector infrastructure framework expected to produce spending of £1.2bn over the next four years.

The agreement comprises 13 lots, with lots seven to 12 covering infrastructure work. The prize section is Lot 12, which is valued at £30m or more and has a total value of £144m. The successful firms are Costain, Galliford Try, Graham, Royal BAM, Jones Brothers Ruthin and Sisk.

Jonathan Willcock, managing director for transportation at Costain, said: 'Our selection to the framework marks an expansion of our portfolio of partners in the infrastructure ecosystem and the North West of England. It is a region that we know well and where we have a strong track record of delivering infrastructure projects predictably in collaboration with our supply chain partners.

'We will be focused on establishing strong working relationships that will allow us to deliver engineering-led solutions that incorporate constructability and production thinking, supporting jobs, growth and more resilient infrastructure for the North West.'

The framework is being managed by Procure Partnerships on behalf of Wirral Council.

Cllr Mark Skillicorn, chair of Wirral Council's economy, regeneration, and housing committee, said: 'Getting the right contractor in place, under the right contract, is perhaps one of the most important steps in any regeneration work, and taking greater control of the means of doing this will put Wirral in a strong position as we move forward with projects across the borough, and hopefully will also benefit our local businesses.'

Costain has also landed a place on Lot 11, which covers infrastructure work from £15m up to £30m and is valued at £120m.

The other contractors on Lot 11 are: AE Yates, Galliford Try, Graham, John F Hunt, Jones Bros Ruthin, Lagan Aviation & Infrastructure, Royal BAM, Sisk and Spencer.

The framework is in its third iteration and 64% of the successful contractors are small-to-medium sized (SME) enterprises.