EAST Renfrewshire Council is hosting a 'Meet the Buyer' event for a Glasgow City Deal.

Held in conjunction with Renfrewshire Council at Paisley Town Hall, the conference will inform businesses in the west of Scotland about how to bid for sub-contracts under the £1.13 billion Glasgow City Region City Deal.

Small and medium-sized companies are welcome to attend and gather information on how the Public Contracts Scotland tender system works.

The event will also offer businesses the chance to network with other firms and meet the main contractors and project teams involved with the City Deal.

Councillor Tony Buchanan, East Renfrewshire's convenor for Infrastructure and Sustainable Growth, said: "The Glasgow Region City Deal represents £1.13billion worth of opportunities for local companies.

"The City Deal includes 20 major infrastructure projects across the City Region. While work is underway, these projects are expected to create around 15,000 construction jobs.

"There will be a vast range of contracts available for firms of all shapes and sizes."

Representatives from the Supplier Development Programme (SDP) will also be in attendance.

The SDP is a free service which offers training and support to help small and medium-sized businesses find contracts, understand the tender process and improve their bids.

Cllr Buchanan added: "Subcontracting work will cover a huge variety of goods and services including construction materials, transport and haulage. Businesses further down the supply chain can then bid to provide labour, goods and other services to the subcontractors.

"This event is a tangible reminder of how the economic benefits of major infrastructure projects filter down and create jobs for local people who then spend their wages in local shops."

The Glasgow City Region City Deal is a £1.13billion partnership between eight local authorities, the Scottish Government and the UK Government that includes 26 projects, 20 of which are major infrastructure schemes.

Those who would like to attend the conference, which will run from 9.15am until 12.30pm on August 29, can register online by visiting www.sdpscotland.co.uk/events/citydeal.

More information on the Glasgow City Region City Deal can be found at www.glasgowcityregion.co.uk.