A9 dualling design work attracting interest

The dualling of the A9 in Scotland is attracting significant interest from consultancy companies.

Representatives from 26 companies attended an industry day put on by Transport Scotland in Perth yesterday (28 May). The event was used as an opportunity to inform the engineering consultancy market about business opportunities available through its £3 billion A9 dualling programme

Three separate large design contracts, each with a value of £40 - £60 million, are on offer - covering the A9 between Perth and Inverness as follows:

Birnam to Glen Garry

Glen Garry to Dalraddy

Dalraddy to Inverness

Transport Minister Keith Brown said: “This £3 billion complex and challenging programme will be one of the biggest infrastructure projects in Scotland’s history. The sheer scale, 80 miles of dual carriageway, makes it good business and value for money to split this design work into three large sections.

"I welcome the keen interest from the consulting engineering industry in this project and look forward to seeing that evidenced when the OJEU for the three design contracts issues this summer.

“These contracts will provide steady work for the next 12 years for the three successful bidders – providing much needed certainty and helping to secure jobs. In addition, these commissions are likely to offer many opportunities for small and medium enterprises through sub-consultancy work.?

“Just under a year ago we set out our plans to dual the A9 between Perth and Inverness by 2025.”

Next week Transport Scotland will be holding a series of public exhibitions to update the public on how it has been progressing with various strands of the A9 dualling work.