Construction work on the new £60m Royal Opera House Production Park in Purfleet, Essex, has begun.

The campus will be the flagship building for the National Skills Academy for Creative and Cultural Skills, and will offer training facilities for 2,250 people aged 16 to 19 and professionals seeking qualifications in offstage and backstage technical skills. Courses include a new Creative Apprenticeship. Forming part of the regeneration of the Thames Gateway, the 14-acre development will also be used as a campus for the creative industries, providing facilities for the Royal Opera House's backstage production.

Developed by Thurrock Thames Gateway Development Corporate, and designed by Nicholas Hare Architects, the project involves the restoration and conversion of the vacant 16th Century High House Farm into a mixed-use building featuring a restaurant, a coffee shop and offices. There will also be new education, event and exhibition spaces and an 18th century stable will be renovated into a museum with a landscaped walled garden to be used as a performance area.

At the centre of the project is a production workshop and service yard, to be used by artists and craftsmen in charge of scenery production and will feature paint, metal, carpentry and fibre glass shops. Minister for the East of England, Barbara Follett said: "Developments like the Royal Opera House's Production Park in Thurrock mean that the East of England is getting the kind of world class cultural centres that help us to attract and retain new skills and talent; raise our profile as a region and, most importantly, grow our economy.

"The new Production Park has already made an impact on the area. Over the last 18 months more than 3000 local children and young people, as well as their teachers and families, have become involved in the project. But this is just the beginning and I look forward to seeing the benefits and cultural experiences that this wonderful new facility brings to the East of England." Other partners in the project include the Royal Opera House, East of England Development Agency, Thurrock Council, Creative & Cultural Skills and Arts Council England, East. The project is expected to be open in 2010.