Scottish businesses to benefit from £6bn in public infrastructure investment

Infrastructure projects totalling almost £6 billion will be under construction throughout Scotland during 2016 with more Scottish employers than ever before accessing public contracts as a result, a new report has revealed.

Major schemes such as the first phase of the A9 Dualling Programme, the new Acute District General Hospital in Dumfries and Galloway and the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh all commenced construction last year, with others set to begin later this year.

And the Forth Replacement Crossing, the electrification of the Edinburgh-Glasgow rail route and two new college campuses (the City of Glasgow College City Campus and the Ayrshire College, Kilmarnock Campus) are all set to become operational this year and deliver the benefits associated with them for the people of Scotland for years to come.

The Scottish Government’s bi-annual Infrastructure Investment Plan (IIP) project pipeline, published today, provides an update on the progress of major projects set out in the IIP. The Government also published its annual IIP progress report which records those projects that were completed within the last year.

It also follows recent independent research which found that Scotland is spending more per head on improving infrastructure than the rest of the UK.

The reports come alongside the Scottish Government’s renewal of the contract to run the Public Contracts Scotland web portal – a vital tool linking Scottish SMEs with work opportunities up and down the country.

Meanwhile, the Scottish Government is working with the UK and Welsh governments to introduce a brand new series of joint events where businesses can learn about the opportunities available from all public infrastructure projects. Following on from the work of the steel task force to support the steel industry, it is also publishing the potential steel requirements of is projects.

Infrastructure secretary Keith Brown said: “This is an extremely exciting time for infrastructure development in Scotland, which means good news for the businesses who can bid to deliver these projects.

“Contracts mean jobs, and we’re doing all we legally can to help Scottish businesses access those contracts.

“Our Public Contracts Scotland (PCS) web portal will continue to be run by previous operator, Aberdeen-based Millstream, for the next five years, meaning that SMEs throughout Scotland have a one-stop-shop for finding all of this potential business.

“And, following on from the work of the Steel Task Force to support the steel industry, we are also publishing the potential steel requirements from our projects.

“I look forward to seeing these projects come to completion, but also to seeing many more Scottish companies benefit from the Scottish Government’s record levels of infrastructure investment, as well as continuing to access contracts elsewhere.”

Millstream managing director Tim Williams said: “Millstream is leading and revolutionising the public procurement industry and we have introduced new features to PCS which will save public sector organisations time and money and also provide an important resource for suppliers interested in finding new opportunities.

“The Scottish Government has an innovative and practically-focused approach to procurement. The combination of our web development skills and our help desk, staffed by procurement experts, has enabled us to secure the new contract to deliver PCS, which we intend to take to even greater levels of success over the coming years.”