Two contractors are in the running to construct a £33 million transport interchange in Tameside, Manchester.

It is understood that Interserve and McLaughlin & Harvey have made bids for the project in Ashton, which will improve transport routes within the town.

Eric Wright Group was also initially on the tender list but the company has since declined to bid for the scheme.

Plans for the project were approved in February this year, before prequalification documents were sent out in May.

The new interchange will be constructed on the site of an existing bus station in Ashton and will link with existing Metrolink tram services.

Currently, plans are at the detailed design stage, after five separate public consultations.

Transport for Greater Manchester said that the new interchange design will free up a “large area of land” that had formerly been restricted.

Work on the interchange is due to get under way next year and will be fully operational within 18 months.

Funding for the scheme is supported by TfGM and central government through Greater Manchester’s local growth deal scheme.

It is the latest project in TfGM’s interchanges programme, with previous overhauls taking place at Bolton, Altrincham and Wythenshawe.

Kier was selected as the primary contractor for the £24.3 million project in Bolton, which is set for completion in December this year, while Laing O’Rourke was chosen as the main contractor for Altrincham’s £19 million interchange, which was finished in December 2014.

The works do not fall within Greater Manchester’s new £200 million civil engineering framework, which was released last week.

Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) bosses want to make it easier for people to change between bus, tram, bicycle and taxi in the heart of Tameside.

Outline designs for the new facility were shared with the public, councillors and businesses during a four-week consultation between August and September.