Major Scottish transport projects 'to cost £7.5bn'

Date: 21/6/2013

A host of major transport infrastructure projects in Scotland will cost the public purse a total of £7.5 billion, according to the country's spending watchdog claims.

The report by Audit Scotland analysed the cost of five transport projects: the Forth Replacement Crossing, the Aberdeen bypass, Edinburgh and Glasgow rail improvements, the Borders Railway and a series of improvements to the M8 motorway.

It concluded that the combined construction costs of these projects would amount to £3.8 billion, with the schemes expected to commit £7.5 billion of public money in total over 30 years.

Audit Scotland noted that all the projects were on track to be completed within budget and on time and would deliver a significant economic boost to the region.

However, it called on the Scottish government to improve the way it reports on the cost of major infrastructure schemes, pointing out that this is the first time a figure for the expenditure of the projects has been published.

"The estimated full public spending commitment for these five projects has not been reported until now; and the forecast building costs for some have been incompletely or inconsistently reported," said Auditor General for Scotland Caroline Gardner.

"It is important for the Scottish Government to demonstrate that this spending is affordable."

Posted by Mary Treen

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