SCOTLAND: Record levels of investment in transport infrastructure schemes across the region are supporting the hard-pressed construction sector.
A raft of schemes coming to the market will provide nearly £40m of new investment, helping to safeguard jobs and create new business opportunities.
Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, John Swinney, said: “It’s imperative that this Government continues to invest in our transport infrastructure across the country to help support economic growth and accelerate recovery.”
Three more schemes worth tens of millions have, in the last few days, reached key milestones. Competition is now under way for the award of a contract worth some £20m for an Intelligent Transport Scheme to the North of the Forth Replacement Crossing.
Tenders have been issued for an £18m road improvement scheme in the South West on the A77 at Parkend – one of the key strategic routes to UK ports.
In the North, tenders have been issued for a £9m road scheme on the A9 in Crubenmore, as part of the Government’s commitment to dualling Scotland’s longest trunk road from Perth to Inverness.
These schemes are apart of a strategic programme of public investment in transport that will benefit the construction sector and provide essential transport links for businesses and communities alike.
Competition for the M9 junction 1a upgrade – another part of the Forth Replacement Crossing scheme – was launched last month. The works, which are expected to cost between £46m and £65m, are expected to start in July 2011.
