91Èȱ¬

The new owner of Teesside's former Corus steel plant has pledged to invest £600m to secure 700 jobs.

Thai company SSI signed the deal to buy Tata Steel's Teesside Cast Products (TCP) on Thursday.

Interim managing director of SSI, Dave Reed, said the money would be spent over five years and that steel production would resume by the autumn.

The Redcar plant was sold a year after it was partially mothballed after a major contract fell through.

The transaction - which should also create hundreds of new jobs at the site - is due to be completed by the end of March.

Mr Reed said: "The investment will help take TCP forward under the new SSI banner.

"We've got a lot of work to do to put all the recruitment process together as we build a team.

"For me, now that the deal has been signed, [it[ is to get the keys so that we can walk through the gates - that is the next part.

"We want to make sure the plant is safe and that the workforce is ready and we've got the place in condition - we want a smart start."

The site, formerly Corus, was partially mothballed in February 2010.

A memorandum of understanding was signed between SSI and Tata in August.

Thursday's announcement was welcomed by politicians, unions and workers.