Developers of the £50 million rebuild project at Bradford College have been inundated with scores of businesses keen to win contracts for work on the massive redevelopment.

More than 80 firms across Yorkshire have signed up to the Meet the Buyer Event being held by BAM Construction at the college today to give people details of 35 contracts ranging in value from £1m to £2,000 for work including plastering, joinery, painting, decorating and cleaning among other things.

The contracts will be procured within the next 18 months.

Such is demand that BAM, the main contractors at the college, have had to move the event from a project room to the Henry Mitchell Hall. A significant number of the businesses attending are from Bradford.

BAM’s senior project surveyor, Dominic Makohin, said that the company had expected demand to be about 30 businesses, but it was now way over-subscribed and had turned away businesses based in Scotland and the Midlands which were interested in attending.

Mr Makohin said: “People think we bring in our own suppliers but what we try to do is reach out to the market and we want to use local tradesmen and small businesses.

“We will go through the packages remaining and discuss the opportunities and ways local companies can work for BAM. We are looking at the internal work such as dry lining, internal plasterboarding and joinery.

“We want companies to know we are here and want to work together to regenerate the city and it is great people are taking an interest.”

The new development will be 23,000 square metres and will involve eventually demolishing the Westbrook building.

Andy Welsh, vice-principal of corporate services at Bradford College, said: “We’re really keen to engage with local businesses regardless of their size. We hope that the Meet the Buyer event will be a fantastic opportunity for local businesses to work together and help boost the local economy.”