BUILDER Kier Southern has been named the “preferred contractor” to build Southampton’s £15m Sea City Museum.

Kier’s appointment brings the ambitious project to showcase the city’s heritage in a landmark building on the side of the Civic Centre “one step closer”.

It has so far survived the swingeing public sector cuts and is still on course for work to start this October with a £4.9m grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund in place. The council is to fund the remaining £10m through fundraising and short term borrowing.

More than 150,000 people a year are expected to visit the attraction, which is likely to be renamed, when it opens in April 2012 – the 100th anniversary of the Titanic tragedy.

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The old magistrates’ courts and Central police station will also be transformed into two permanent exhibitions, entitled Southampton’s Titanic Story and Gateway to the World.

Kier Southern is the Southampton based arm of the giant Kier Group, which is involved in a series of major local developments. Projects include the new Ordnance Survey headquarters on the outskirts of the city, Harefield School and the Eastpoint Conference and Community Centre and the new Southampton Police Operational Command Unit.

Kier was last year hit with a £17.9m fine by the office of Fair Trading, along with a raft of other major builders, after an investigation found “endemic bid rigging” in tendering for public contracts.

The company will now sign a pre-contract agreement before being finally appointed at a meeting of the Cabinet in August.

Councillor John Hannides, Cabinet member for leisure, culture and heritage, said: “It feels like we are really moving forward with this project, now that Kier will be preparing to start work on the museum. This fabulous museum will draw thousands of visitors to Southampton every year and will create many more jobs for the local economy.”