INTERNATIONAL companies are being encouraged to invest billions of pounds in south Essex to help the dream of regeneration come to fruition.

Judith Armitt, chief executive of Thames Gateway, is travelling to a worldwide property summit in Cannes, France, this week to set out her case for greater private investment in the area.

Mrs Armitt will join south Essex councillors at the conference to tempt big developers to the area.

The Government says it has invested £7billion in the regeneration of the Thames Gateway, which runs from Canary Wharf to Southend on the north side of the estuary and to Sheerness in Kent to the south.

But it estimates it will be able to generate £38billion in private investment to carry out all of the regeneration plans it forsees taking place.

One of the key projects Mrs Armitt hopes will benefit from the private investment is the redevelopment of Basildon town centre, which needs £1billion.

Ambitious plans to improve healthcare, housing, education and sport were unveiled by Ruth Kelly, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, but the schemes cannot all be carried out without cash from big developers.

Mrs Armitt said: "Basildon is quite a thriving and prosperous town now, but being a New Town it also can look a bit samey."

She added: "Thames Gateway is an area with different communities each with their own identity and we are very determined to build on the individuality of those communities."

The Government aims to create 10,700 new homes in Basildon and 11,000 new jobs by 2021, but despite the huge number of homes Mrs Armitt says it will be supplied by different developments.

She said: "It is not just about building flats.

"It is about building more family housing and more mixed communities.

She added: "Basildon is one of the sites we are particularly focusing on as it is ready for investment now."

The Basildon project is one of seven key areas of investment which will be pushed at the summit, with others including Greenwich, Queensborough in Kent and Thurrock.

Although Basildon is a focus on this trip, with the Basildon Council leader Malcolm Buckley and chief executive Bala Mahendran also going on the foreign visit, Mike Lambert, chief executive of regeneration company Renaissance Southend, is also hoping to drum up support for investment in the town.

Mrs Armitt said: "Southend is really important.

"I have visited there three times and there are particular projects I am impressed with such as the University of Essex building right next to South East Essex College which is really about bettering skills so that new, high quality, jobs can come to Southend.

"There is the project for the town centre including the investment in Pier Hill and we are looking at the development of Southend Airport."

But Mrs Armitt is confident she will have success in bringing interested investors back to Basildon.

She said: "What is the point of going to an international property conference if we do not think people are going to be interested?

"It is a huge statement of our confidence in Basildon that we are going to do this."

Mrs Armitt will be presenting her case for attracting investment at the property summit on Thursday, March 15.