Glasgow City Council's construction division, City Building, is to form a major joint venture (JV) with developer Wheatley Group.

The new 50/50 partnership, worth £3.7 billion, will help secure 2,000 jobs and more than 2,000 apprenticeships over the next 30 years.

As part of the deal, Wheatley Group take a 50% shareholding in City Building Glasgow. In return, City Building will carry out all repair work for Glasgow Housing Association and Wheatley's other social landlords in the west of Scotland.

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Work to formally establish the new JV will begin on 01 January 2017.

Council Leader Frank McAveety said: "This is the biggest deal of its kind in the UK. When the joint venture was originally proposed, it was valued at £2.7bn over the next 30 years, however significant additional value has been identified as the detailed business planning has been undertaken and refined, with an additional £1bn of value created.

"A range of other significant opportunities have been identified in the expanded business plan - for example, RSBi, City Building's specialist manufacturing division, which employs more than 260 local people, around half with disabilities, will undertake a range of additional work for Wheatley Group subsidiaries. Importantly, the JV will also invest £180m in training its people and improving skills over the 30-year period.

"The positive impact on our communities and on the wider Glasgow economy will be enormous."

(LM/MH)