Perthshire companies are being encouraged to bid for a slice of one of Scotland’s biggest ever construction projects.
With a cost of £3 billion, Conservative MSP Murdo Fraser believes there is huge scope for local businesses to benefit from the dualling of the A9.
Details just released reveal that Perth-based engineering firm I & H Brown Limited has been awarded a contract for demolition work on the Luncarty to Pass of Birnam section of the project.
A further contract to carry our tree clearing along the same route will be awarded in May and Mr Fraser is encouraging local firms to apply for tender.
Advance works, like tree clearance, will be undertaken before the main construction contract is awarded and the Mid-Scotland and Fife MSP believes this offers small to medium-sized enterprises the chance to bid for these type of contracts.
“Dualling the A9 will be one of the biggest civil engineering projects in our history and I want local businesses to see their fair share of the contracts,” he said.
“I am delighted that I & H Brown have won tender for the works between Luncarty and the Pass of Birnam and I hope that this is a sign of things to come.
“I would encourage any local business thinking of bidding to visit the Public Contracts Scotland web page.
“Ensuring that small and medium sized businesses are able to benefit from the dualling process is important for the local economy and employment in the region.
“The recently completed Queensferry Crossing was reliant on a number of foreign firms to provide labour and expertise and I think everyone would like to see a different approach on the A9 where the economic benefit is felt closer to home.”
The project, which will see the road dualled between Perth and Inverness by 2025, is a major boost to the construction industry and will create hundreds of jobs over the lifespan of the work.
Keith Brown, Cabinet Secretary for the Economy, Jobs and Fair Work, said: “It’s great to see a locally-based SME securing contracts for these preliminary works on the next section of the A9 Dualling Programme. We are working diligently towards our ambitious target of having dual-carriageway introduced to the A9 between Perth and Inverness by 2025.
“The Luncarty to Pass of Birnam project connects two existing sections of dual-carriageway and will make a significant difference to people’s journeys when it’s fully opened to traffic.
“As each section of road is finished, we are opening up Scotland for trade and tourism, which is helping to strengthen our economy.”
Ground investigations necessary to provide detailed information for the four companies tendering for the main construction contract are now complete and archaeological excavations are continuing on the 9.5km Luncarty to Pass of Birnam section.
AOC Archaeology Group, which was awarded the £500,000 contract in January, has completed its initial investigations and will continue to excavate key areas and document any finds over the coming months.
The appointment of the construction contractor for Luncarty to Pass of Birnam is expected in the first half of 2018.
