Harland and Wolff shipyard has won a £2 million contract to help restore the boat which ferried passengers to the Titanic.

The money was awarded by the European Union with additional funding from the Northern Ireland Tourist Board and will primarily cover work associated with the steelwork and superstructure of the Nomadic, which has been in a dock in Belfast since 2006.

Social Development Minister Alex Attwood announced the new contract with Harland and Wolff in Belfast.

"The award of this £2 million contract will help restore and revamp Nomadic's 100-year-old superstructure and steelwork, getting it ready for Titanic's 2012 celebrations," he said.

Work will start on the project immediately and is scheduled to be completed by the end of July. It will provide more than 25 jobs and at least three new posts will be created.

The Nomadic and Titanic were launched from Harland and Wolff in 1911.

Less than a year after the White Star Line-owned vessels left the city, the Nomadic was employed to transport first and second-class passengers from the French port of Cherbourg to the Titanic ahead of its ill-fated maiden Atlantic voyage when it struck an iceberg, leaving more than 1,500 dead.

Mr Attwood added: "The Nomadic played an important role in the Titanic story. We are looking forward to the next chapter, which will see her take up a role as a key attraction at the heart of the centenary festivities. This is another great milestone in the ongoing refurbishment of Titanic's little sister."

The work will involve the erection of the bridge deck and the flying bridge deck.

Denis Rooney, chairman of the Nomadic Charitable Trust, said: "The superstructure and steelwork contract will ensure that the vessel will be ready to accommodate the key fit-out stage of the restoration programme, which will commence immediately after this contract is complete."