The construction industry is set for a major boost as the process to award the contract for Scotland’s biggest ever hospital project gets underway.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) has now officially embarked on a process to invite potential bidders for the new South Glasgow Hospitals campus.

Robert Calderwood, NHSGGC's Acute Division Chief Operating Officer, said: "As the most ambitious NHS building project ever undertaken in Scotland, not only will many thousands of patients and staff benefit from the development but given the current economic downturn the timing of this project could not be better. The project will undoubtedly give the construction industry and the wider the local economy an enormous boost."

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Health chiefs plan to do all they can to retain a significant proportion of the investment in the local economy. By working closely with the successful bidder the Health Board aims to support local businesses through local procurement initiatives as part of the four year build programme.

In addition the project will also aim to sustain local employment and maximise new training and employment opportunities both during the construction phase of the project and also once the new campus is up and running.

Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing, Nicola Sturgeon, said: "The new publicly funded Southern General is a massive construction project for Glasgow and indeed Scotland as a whole. Beginning the process of inviting bids from construction companies marks a major milestone in the delivery of this huge investment of public money - which will also be a substantial source of new jobs."

Alison Sinclair, Chief Executive of Glasgow South West Regeneration Agency, said the announcement not only signals a major investment in health services but also a significant investment in the communities of South West Glasgow.

(GK/JM)