On completion, the £100 million project will extend the state of the art communications infrastructure to over 2100km of network.

The deal is amongst CityFibre’s first strategic partnerships with construction companies as it accelerates its plans to reach five million homes by 2025.

Preparatory construction work began in November last year and Amey will now significantly expand its recruitment drive to create around 300 local jobs over the project’s lifespan.

The announcement follows the recent news that CityFibre has raised £1.12 billion of debt to fund the first part of its £2.5bn investment plan to provide wholesale full fibre access to at least 20% of the UK market. The project is one of the biggest single investments ever made in the UK’s digital infrastructure.

Greg Mesch, chief executive at CityFibre, said: “Amey has a formidable reputation in the sector and we are delighted to have them onboard for our flagship Gigabit City rollout in Edinburgh. This project represents a long, stable, city-wide build that will enable Amey to resource confidently and deliver at pace. This is expected to be the start of our partnership and that it will soon expand to cover further city builds across the country.”

Andy Milner, chief executive at Amey, said: “We’re delighted that CityFibre has chosen Amey to transform the broadband provision in Edinburgh. As a trusted provider of utility services, we’re looking forward to working with CityFibre on this flagship project in a transparent and collaborative way, to deliver a service that adds value, benefits local residents and in turn helps Edinburgh become a truly intelligently connected city.”

Cllr Lezley Marion Cameron, housing and economy vice convener, added: “Becoming a globally competitive digital city, and the Data Capital of Europe is a key priority of Edinburgh’s Economy Strategy.

“This continuing investment will see more Edinburgh citizens experience a transformation of their online world at home. For the wider Edinburgh economy, this brings increased productivity, employment opportunities, innovation and helps facilitate and underpins delivery of our Economy Strategy. As this project progresses we will work with CityFibre to minimise any disruption to residents and businesses.”