Following the announcement in February that a new procurement would be launched for the Tomatin to Moy section of the A9 Dualling, Transport Scotland officials have been working at pace to update contracts in preparation for the new procurement.

This work has already involved consultation with the Civil Engineering Contractors Association Scotland (CECA Scotland) and other industry partners. The consultation aims to help Transport Scotland understand how its standard design and build contracts may be modified to become more attractive to construction industry suppliers to help generate greater competition in future procurement exercises, delivering better value for the public purse.

Following this initial engagement exercise, Transport Scotland is now inviting other potential bidders across the construction industry to engage with it to provide their views on the changes Transport Scotland is considering making to its standard contract terms. Parties interested in taking part in this way can register their interest by contacting Transport Scotland’s project manager Nick Conroy at A9Dualling@transport.gov.scot.

Nick Conroy said: “Understanding the views of the market is an invaluable part of any procurement process. We regularly engage with industry stakeholders in our work, and it’s important that we listen to the industry to better understand the challenges they face in delivering critical infrastructure projects such as this. I look forward to further discussions with delivery partners in this next phase of engagement.”