The country’s largest fresh produce market is set for a £2bn makeover after Covent Garden Market Authority (CGMA) confirmed its development partner.

VINCI St. Modwen (VSM) will now develop New Covent Garden Market, located in the Nine Elms on the South Bank regeneration area, to provide 500,000 sq ft of modern facilities for its traders.

The revamped site will include 'The Garden Heart' - a new centre for London's food industry with a brand new public market.

This is set to be located a short distance from the proposed location of a new Northern line Tube stop provisionally called Nine Elms.

Baroness Brenda Dean, CGMA chairman, has been responsible for securing the future of New Covent Garden Market following decades of uncertainty. She said: "Our vision for a modern new market is now significantly closer to being realised and the team at CGMA are looking forward to working with VSM and the tenant community to take the plans forward in what will be a major and important part of the new Vauxhall Nine Elms development area."

The proposal was granted outline planning consent by Wandsworth Council in 2012.

Ravi Govindia, leader of Wandsworth Council and co-chair of the Nine Elms Vauxhall Partnership, said: "This is a vital scheme within the Nine Elms on the South Bank regeneration area and we're delighted to see it moving ahead.

"The project will secure the future of this historic market which is home to more than 200 local businesses and 2500 jobs."

The scheme will be paid for by developing parts of the site which are no longer needed for the market operation.

These areas will become new mixed use developments including homes, public open spaces, shops, cafes, restaurants and offices.

For more information visit http://www.nineelmslondon.com Nine Elms Facts - Nine Elms on the South Bank includes the Albert Embankment, Vauxhall and a large slice of industrial Battersea.

:: An enormous investment programme has begun to transform the area - around 2million sq m of new development has been granted planning permission and the first major projects are now underway.

:: Last month the Government announced a £1bn loan guarantee to fund two new Northern Line Tube stations in Nine Elms on the South Bank.

:: Across the regeneration area up to 16,000 new homes will be built - 14,000 already have planning consent and the first 3,000 are now under construction.

:: The new Nine Elms on the South Bank will provide 25,000 new permanent jobs for London and up to 1,000 construction and engineering apprenticeships could be created during the building programme.