Almost £6 billion of Scottish infrastructure projects will be under construction throughout 2016, it has been announced.

Recent research has shown Scotland is spending more per head on improving infrastructure than the rest of the UK, with major projects such as the A9 Dualling Programme, the new Acute District General Hospital in Dumfries and Galloway, and the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Edinburgh all getting underway last year.

Other schemes set to become operational this year include the Forth Replacement Crossing, the electrification of the Edinburgh-Glasgow rail route and two new college campuses – the City of Glasgow College City Campus and the Ayrshire College, Kilmarnock Campus.

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The Scottish Government is also working alongside the UK and Welsh governments to introduce a series of joint events where businesses can learn about opportunities available from all public infrastructure projects.

Overall, Scottish businesses are set to benefit from billions of public investment.

Infrastructure Secretary Keith Brown said this year is an "extremely exciting time for infrastructure development in Scotland".

"Contracts mean jobs, and we're doing all we legally can to help Scottish businesses access those contracts," he added.

"Our Public Contracts Scotland (PCS) web portal will continue to be run by previous operator, Aberdeen-based Millstream, for the next five years, meaning that SMEs throughout Scotland have a one-stop-shop for finding all of this potential business.

"And, following on from the work of the Steel Task Force to support the steel industry, we are also publishing the potential steel requirements from our projects."

He concluded: "I look forward to seeing these projects come to completion, but also to seeing many more Scottish companies benefit from the Scottish Government's record levels of infrastructure investment, as well as continuing to access contracts elsewhere."

[Pictured: An artist's impression of the Forth Replacement Crossing]

(LM/JP)