The Scottish Government has announced the preferred bidder for the Forth Replacement Crossing (FRC), with a saving of around £1 billion however the timing of the announcement after parliament was dissolved has been branded “electioneering”.
Finance secretary John Swinney and transport minister Keith Brown said Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC) had been chosen ahead of Forthspan, following an 18-month competitive tendering process.
The contract is worth £790 million excluding VAT and inflation at today’s prices, representing a saving of between £0.9 billion to £1.2 billion.
In addition, £10 million will be given to Fife Council for a 1000-space park and ride to be built at Halbeath, Dunfermline.
Both government ministers made the announcements at a North Queensferry hotel.
The FCBC consortium consists of Dragados, Hochtief, American Bridge International and Morrison Construction and was chosen for its “technical strength” as well as its cost.
Mr Swinney said the chosen bidder now means the overall cost of the new bridge will be between £1.47 billion to £1.62 billion, compared to the previous estimate of between £1.7 billion to £2.3 billion.
“This represents a significant saving to the public purse it’s an important milestone,” he said.
“I am delighted as this is an important piece of infrastructure. This is a major contract one of the biggest in a generation.”
Mr Swinney said work on the bridge should start this summer, with construction expected to be completed by 2016.
And he emphasised its importance to the whole economy of Scotland.
“By protecting this strategically vital transport link, the Forth Replacement Crossing will secure over 3000 jobs and economic revenue of £1.3 billion,” he said.
“It will also deliver significant additional economic benefits through the creation of hundreds of jobs sub-contracting opportunities for local firms.’£6 billion benefit'”Research published by the British Chamber of Commerce estimated these benefits to be worth around £6 billion to Scotland’s economy.”
The FRC project will see a 2.7km twin span cable-stayed bridge built upstream of the Forth Road Bridge. It will deliver 2.5 miles of new motorway quality roads connecting it to the road network and upgrade the roads and interchanges.
It was decided to embark on a new crossing due to deterioration of the main suspension cables on the Forth Road Bridge.
However, the announcement did not meet with universal approval.
Scottish Labour transport spokesman Charlie Gordon said he welcomed progress on the Forth Replacement Crossing, which he described as a “strategically important project” for the whole of Scotland but he accused First Minister Alex Salmond of electioneering.’Playing politics’Liberal Democrat Transport spokeswoman Alison McInnes added, “It is unprecedented to award a contract of this scale after parliament has dissolved. The SNP are playing politics by announcing the consortium to build the bridge the day before parliament dissolves.
“This is almost certainly the largest single contract in the Scottish Parliament’s history
“While we want work on the bridge to begin, the new, incoming government should have had the chance to scrutinise the detail of the contracts.
“We have always thought that the estimated price of the bridge was over-inflated, so it is good to see that these estimations have come down.
“It is essential to keep scrutinising these costs to ensure they don’t get out of hand.”
Conservative transport spokesman MSP Jackson Carlaw was less scathing.
He said, “If the new Forth Crossing can indeed be built on budget and on time, then today’s announcement of a preferred bidder, The Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors, several hundred million pounds below the initial estimate is very welcome news for both the project itself and Scottish taxpayers.”
Green MSPs have written to Sir Peter Housden, permanent secretary to the Scottish Government, challenging his decision to allow SNP ministers to sign contracts during what they see as the “traditional election purdah” period.
The Green Party believe constitutional convention prevents ministers from taking decisions which are “significant and may be politically contentious” and they state a motion in the name of Lib Dem MSP Margaret Smith challenging the decision is supported by Labour and Green MSPs.
Green MSP Patrick Harvie said, “It’s no wonder opposition is growing, given the pressure on the Scottish budget and the fact that a full repair to the existing bridge would cost just £122 million less than a tenth of the value of all these contracts put together, even at the level announced today.
“Ministers and Transport Scotland also still have serious questions to answer about the total cost. Suddenly claiming VAT won’t be payable, wishing inflation away and reducing costs of capital look like at best arbitrary and unsubstantiated ways to massage the cost down at worst they look downright dishonest.
“I have written to the permanent secretary today, urging him to reconsider and instruct a delay instead, perhaps of no more than six weeks. He serves Scotland, and should not bend the rules to serve his ‘here-today, gone-tomorrow’ political masters.”
The ForthRight Alliance, a coalition of groups opposed to the construction of the bridge, described the announcement as the “worst kind of political fix.”
Chairman Lawrence Marshall said, “With clear evidence that the ‘drying out’ of the current bridge’s main cables is proceeding according to plan and with a further inspection of the cables planned for this autumn, incoming MSPs may wish to consider whether building this additional crossing is in fact now required and whether the huge amount of public money needed to fund this project could not better be spent on schools, hospitals and other road repair and construction schemes across the whole of Scotland.”