Christina McKelvie MSP has welcomed an announcement by Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon that the 2014 Commonwealth Games Athletes’ Village will be built by a South Lanarkshire company, creating 50 new jobs in the area.

The £200m project will be undertaken by construction-skills company CCG. Off-site construction of timber framed houses for the Village will take place in a new factory in Cambuslang, which is due to open in April 2010. At least 60 per cent of the 50 new jobs will be recruited from the local area and half of the vacancies will be for apprentices.

SNP MSP Ms McKelvie, whose constituency includes the area from which local recruitment will take place, said:

“These new jobs will be a great boost for South Lanarkshire’s employment market.

“The area has undoubtedly taken a severe hit from the recession, and the construction sector has been badly affected, so Nicola Sturgeon’s announcement is extremely welcome.

“I congratulate CCG construction on securing these jobs for South Lanarkshire. I’m particularly pleased at the number of apprenticeships that will be created – good news for local young people who are entering the job market at a difficult time.

“I’m delighted that the area is already benefiting from the new opportunities being generated by the Commonwealth Games and that a South Lanarkshire company and its staff will be making such a key contribution to the Games’ success.

“The SNP Government has always been clear that it will ensure that the Games bring wider benefits for hard-pressed communities and South Lanarkshire will soon be getting its first Commonwealth Games Bonus.”