Tata Steel has already appointed contractor Sir Robert McAlpine to deliver the project, which will involve the demolition of existing structures and partially filling an on-site lagoon.

New buildings to be constructed will include the furnace complex, a fume and dust treatment plant and a water treatment facilitiy.

A scrap processing plant will also be required.

The furnace will work by melting mostly scrap steel, with other purer forms also being added in order to achieve specialist grades of the metal.

Asked about the potential impact of US tariffs on steel imports, Tata Steel UK boss Rajesh Nair said it was a “significant” question and that the company was “still watching the space”.

“Ideally we would like to have a level playing field, where everyone plays the game in the right way,” he said.