A joint venture between John Sisk and Roadbridge was selected ahead of three rival bids for the M9 Junction 1a works – the final of three major FRC contracts to be awarded - with a tender price of £25.6 million (excluding VAT).
This bid is significantly below the original estimated price range of £46m to £65m and represents further substantial savings for the public purse following earlier announcements that bids for the FRC’s Principal and Fife ITS contracts were also under budget.
The Junction 1a contract will support at least 125 construction jobs, in addition to the hundreds generated by the main bridge and road works across the other two contracts.
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Cabinet Secretary for Infrastructure and Capital Investment Alex Neil said: “The Forth Replacement Crossing project is essential to protect and promote Scotland’s sustainable economic growth. It will secure over 3,000 jobs and economic revenue of £1.3 billion that would otherwise have been lost through re-cabling of the Forth Road Bridge.
“It will also deliver a welcome boost to the Scottish construction industry, creating hundreds of jobs and many further sub-contracting opportunities for local firms, estimated by the British Chambers of Commerce to be worth around £6 billion to Scotland’s economy.
“Today’s announcement that the preferred bid for the M9 Junction 1a contract is substantially under budget demonstrates further significant savings for the public purse. While it is clear that the current construction market is highly competitive, this is also testament to Transport Scotland’s robust procurement and project management.
“Following Tuesday’s opening of the M74 under budget and ahead of schedule, this presents yet more compelling evidence that the Scottish Government is successfully managing major infrastructure projects in a way which supports the construction industry, creates jobs and minimises cost to the tax payer.”
(GK/KMcA)
