A £13m extension to a leading North-East science park is attracting interest before work has begun.

The new Explorer development at the North East Technology Park (NETPark), in Sedgefield, is expected to create about 800 jobs both during construction and on site.

The expansion will allow companies based at the science park, which is managed by Business Durham, the economic development company for County Durham, to scale up.

Businesses already keen to move into one of six Explorer units include IBEX Innovations, which produces advanced X-ray detectors, which offer high-resolution capabilities and fast capture times at far lower doses of radiation than normal.

The technology is being used in the medical, food and industrial imaging industries. Benefits range from causing fewer harmful radiation effects for patients to being able to spot tiny foreign objects in food.

Dr Gary Gibson, chief technology officer at IBEX, said: “Being at NETPark we’ve been able to find out about sources of funding and network with like-minded companies.”

The expansion is the next phase of a ten-year strategy for NETPark as it becomes a global hub for materials integration, where ground-breaking technology is integrated into everyday products. NETPark’s ten-year strategy is expected to create at least 3,000 jobs and add another £400m to the region’s GVA.

Dr Simon Goon, managing director at Business Durham, said firms based at the science park were already global leaders in their field, and the Explorer buildings would allow more to grow and prosper.

"NETPark is already at 95 per cent capacity, so we really need the extra grow on space for companies that are excelling in their field, such as IBEX," he said.

"We have companies who are wanting to scale up to the next level and also businesses which are wanting to move onto NETPark because they’ve heard about its reputation."

Explorer is due to be completed in 2017.