A further £70m of sub-contracts for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/Balmedie to Tipperty project are to be made available, Transport Minister Keith Brown has announced.

The contracts are of a package that will total around £221m.

It is understood these sub-contracts, which are in addition to more than £121m of sub-contracts already advertised since August, include a number of business opportunities for SME's such as drainage works, earthworks, plant and equipment hire, steel reinforcement and rock crushing and screening.

Welcoming the additional investment, Minister Brown said: "These significant sub-contract opportunities mark the final steps prior to the construction of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/Balmedie-Tipperty scheme.

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"In the coming weeks, another £70 million in sub-contracts will be advertised through Public Contracts Scotland, with a further £30 million to be advertised in the coming months, bringing the total package to £221 million.

"These will provide excellent opportunities to get involved in the largest project to be procured using the Scottish Government's innovative Non-Profit Distributing funding model."

He continued: "Over the next three decades, our investment in the project is expected to bring in an additional £6 billion to the north-east economy. It will also create around 14,000 new jobs, with the intention to create more than 1,000 jobs for the construction phase, including on-the-job training for apprentices and local employment opportunities. A wide range of construction jobs will also be on offer in the coming months."

Minister Brown added that full construction work is due to commence on the bypass shortly, once preparatory works have been completed.

(JP/IT)