Dozens of new construction and engineering jobs look set to be created in the Manchester area after plans to extend the city's public transport infrastructure won more than £7 million in government funding.

Under the latest round of awards given out to projects across the country through the government's Community Infrastructure Fund, some £4 million will be made available to help finance a northwards extension to the Manchester Metrolink system.

At the same time, £3.3 million has been awarded for the planned construction of a new Chorley Buckshaw Parkway railway station in the Greater Manchester area, with both of these projects likely to benefit skilled engineers and construction professionals over the next couple of years.

These schemes are joined by ten others across the UK, with the government having given out around £30 million through this latest round of funding.

"This £30m boost for councils places them at the centre of supporting homes, jobs and growth, which is good news for the local area," housing minister John Healey said.

This comes soon after Mr Healey revealed that as many as 20,000 jobs across the UK are likely to be created as the government makes a £1 billion loan available to kick-start the construction industry.