Carillion has secured a major construction contract from a joint venture between Native Land and Grosvenor.

The firm will be responsible for the delivery of the £130 million 'Project Bankside' development, which consists of 229 new apartments in buildings ranging from five to 24 storeys at London's South Bank.

Native Land chief executive Alasdair Nicholls said he was "delighted" to appoint Carillion to build the new apartments, which will be situated next to the Tate Modern.

"This is an exceptional project in a growing quarter of London that is already hugely sought after," he said.

"Our strong off-plan sales to date are testament to Project Bankside's desirability."

The project, which will also incorporate 11,000 sq ft of ground floor retail space, will be completed in phases between 2010 and 2012.

A proportion of the new apartments will come under the affordable housing bracket, although most will be privately owned.

Earlier this week, Carillion gave pupils at Farnborough's Wavell School a civil engineering taster day at its headquarters in Wolverhampton.