Transport Minister, Keith Brown, has visited Perthshire and Morayshire to mark two significant infrastructure projects aimed at improving congestion, journey times and road safety across these regions.

The Minister opened the new £31.5 million A96 Fochabers to Mosstodloch Bypass, early and on budget, and stopped off in Perth to announce a 2017 construction start date for the A9 Luncarty to Birnam scheme.

Mr Brown said: "The Scottish Government is committed to investing in our transport infrastructure.

"Infrastructure investment like these A96 and A9 schemes is fundamental to delivering sustainable economic growth, supporting jobs and enabling businesses to grow.

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"Through our Infrastructure Investment Plan we have set out our long term investment plans worth £60 billion, including dualling the A9 from Perth to Inverness by 2025 and the A96 by 2030.

"Opening the £31.5 million Fochabers bypass early and on budget and signalling the start in 2017 of works to dual the A9 from Perth to Inverness shows how this Government is working to connect Scotland’s cities with a high quality transport system that will generate economic growth.

"The Scottish Government has rightly earned a reputation for the successful delivery of major infrastructure projects and the dualling of the A9 is unprecedented in scale. 80 miles of single carriageway to be dualled, making this 16 times the length of the M74 Completion project.

"Such infrastructure construction projects simply do not – cannot - happen overnight but, as the detailed exhibitions being held this week demonstrate, design work is already well underway to allow us to achieve the 2025 target.

"We now want to step up the work to make this vital strategic road fit for the 21st Century in a confident, ambitious and connected Scotland."

(GK/DW)