COUNCIL officials are preparing to invite bids for work to build a replacement for Port Glasgow's replica of the famous Comet vessel. 

The wooden landmark was dismantled and removed from Port Glasgow's town centre last year after it spent more than a decade exposed to the elements and left to rot. 

Since then council officials and members of a sub-group set up to explore reinstating the vessel have been working to find a suitable replacement. 

A new report to councillors has revealed that the local authority is now preparing to put a contract to replace replica out to tender. 

The report states: "Following the response to Prior Information Notice (PIN) and evaluation of expressions of interest, technical services and procurement are working to identify and develop the most appropriate form of tender document for the project to reflect that it is not a typical capital construction project.

"The terms and conditions, pricing and the necessary scoring and evaluation methodology require to be fully considered and addressed.

"Historic documents including the original Comet replica drawings have been obtained from the archive for inclusion.

"The scope of works has generally been agreed through the Comet sub-group with further consultation on the final draft document planned ahead of tender release."

The Comet replica was an exact copy of Henry Bell's 1812 original, which was the first commercially successful steamboat service in Europe.