Projects which colleges are planning to fund under the Private Finance Initiative will now have to be "road tested" by the Further Education Funding Council before private sector firms are approached.

The Further Education Funding Council will only approve - "sign off" - those projects which it considers to be commercially viable.

The measures were announced by Education and Employment Minister George Mudie.

"I want to bring more private enterprise expertise to the further education sector to improve the facilities and operation of colleges," he said during a visit to the Further Education Funding Council's headquarters in Coventry.

"The sign off arrangements for the various sectors should ensure that only affordable and viable projects come to market.

"Private sector organisations should be in no doubt about the quality of the education projects they will be bidding for in the future."

Five colleges have already signed deals with private firms worth £22.4m.

The government believes that a further 146 such projects, with a combined worth of £300m, could be set up.

The Chief Executive of the Further Education Funding Council, Professor David Melville, said there was great potential for private investment in improving and modernising further education colleges.