Work starts on motorway upgrades

WORK is to begin imminently on a £500 million motorway project between Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The project to manage and maintain a core section of the motorway network for 30 years will commence with the upgrade of nearly seven miles of the A8 dual carriageway between Baillieston and Newhouse, completing the M8 motorway between Glasgow and Edinburgh, along with major improvements to the M74 Raith Interchange and other key sections of the existing M8, M73 and M74.
It will be the largest contract to be awarded as part of the Scottish Government’s £2.5 billion Non-Profit Distributing (NPD) model. NPD helps to deliver economies of scale and efficiencies for the public purse.
Construction costs are now £105 million below original estimates following a robust competitive dialogue with the preferred contractor, SRP (Scot Roads Partnership Project Ltd).
Following a significant level of international investor interest, funding will come from the European Investment Bank and a group of investors managed by Allianz Global Investors, one of the world’s leading integrated financial services providers.
Transport Minister Keith Brown said, “The M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project is breaking new ground, which is great news for Scotland and great news for the jobs market.
“It is the first UK roads project involving bond finance since the global financial crisis in 2008. It is also the largest NPD project to reach this stage and demonstrates confidence from the international investor community in the NPD model and that Scotland’s infrastructure is seen as a viable and desirable long-term investment.
“This project shows that this NPD procurement process has driven down costs and will continue to deliver long-term benefits for the taxpayer.
“The motorway link between the country’s two largest cities is absolutely pivotal to Scotland’s sustainable economic growth and the improvements made by this project will drive significant economic benefits for businesses and improve road safety and accessibility for road users the length and breadth of the country.”