A £600m Royal Navy contract securing more than 2,000 jobs in Hampshire has been hailed as a show of the county’s “great maritime strength”.

The Ministry of Defence announced that it has awarded the deal to BAE Systems to manage Portsmouth Naval Base as part of the five-year deal.

In November last year BAE announced that shipbuilding would cease in Hampshire with the loss of nearly 1,000 jobs.

A large number of the staff employed at the Portsmouth base were from Southampton, having moved there when Vosper Thornycroft closed its operations in Woolston.

The new contract will secure the jobs as it will deliver a range of support services to ships including technical services, maintenance, repairs and upgrades.

It includes the management of the Portsmouth Naval Base on behalf of the Navy, delivering everything that is needed to live and work on the base such as planning, engineering, and programme management.

Fareham MP Mark Hoban, said: “There will be people in my constituency who work at the dockyard and their futures are now secure.

“It benefits all of the area and it’s a reminder of the great maritime strength of Hampshire.

“It’s a great commercial boost and it’s all been very positive – people are pleased it’s happened.

“After the turmoil created by the closure of the shipbuilding, what this does is demonstrate and secure the future of the dockyard.”

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Fareham MP Mark Hoban

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon hailed the move, which will also support half of the Royal Navy’s surface fleet on UK and global operations, as the Government’s second-biggest defence contract.

The Maritime Support Delivery Framework agreement will run to 2019 and provides a partnering agreement between BAE Systems, the Royal Navy and the MoD.

The Government says the base will be developed to allow the integration of support services, and will provide a vehicle to support future classes including the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.

Commodore Jeremy Rigby, commander of the naval base, said: “The contract will keep the base running at the highest standards and will ensure our ships are in the best possible condition and operating at the highest capability.

“It has sustained more than 2,000 jobs at the base and many more in the supply chain.

“The announcement comes at an exciting time for Portsmouth Naval Base as we prepare for the Royal Navy’s two new aircraft carriers, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.”

The announcement was also welcomed by trade union Unite. Regional officer Mark Fisher said: “This is a very welcome boost to our members at the Portsmouth shipyard and the local economy generally, especially given the hammer blow last year when the ending of naval ship building was announced.”