Civil engineers: We ‘knew for years’ A9 dualling would not hit 2025 target

Civil engineers in Scotland knew “for many years” the promise to dual the A9 by 2025 would not be met, a trade body has said.

The road, which links central Scotland to the Highlands, has become a point of political contention, with parties from across Holyrood pressuring the Scottish Government to speed up plans to dual the road in a bid to improve safety and connectivity.

Earlier this year, then transport minister Jenny Gilruth said the 2025 goal would not be met, after the single tendering offer for the section between Moy and Tomatin was significantly higher than the £115 million estimate cost.

In response to a petition due to be discussed by a Holyrood Committee this week, the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) Scotland said the industry considered the goal unachievable before the announcement from the Scottish Government and speculated the slow pace of work could be deliberate.

“The civil engineering sector in Scotland have known for many years that
the promise to dual the A9 2025 would not be met,” the document said.

“The pace at which design and development work and subsequent road orders for each of the 11 sections has been carried out can be best described as being glacial.”

The body went on to say there was suspicions among the industry that the slow movement “has been deliberate as there has been insufficient budget allocated to allow these sections to be procured”.

The document added that Transport Scotland is considered “the worst client to work for in the UK” due to the type of contract it uses.

Current Transport Scotland contracting arrangements, the submission said, are an “unattractive anomaly” in the industry, with most contracting bodies having moved to a “new engineering contract (NEC)” in 1993 that is preferred by the sector.

“It was a radical departure from existing building and engineering contracts such as that still favoured by Transport Scotland, as it was written in plain language and designed to stimulate, rather than frustrate, good management,” the submission said.

“Across the UK it is estimated that several hundred billion of pounds of procurement have been facilitated by this standard contract and it is now regarded as the industry norm.”

The current contract, which the body said was limiting interest from the sector, places more risk on the contractor as opposed to Transport Scotland.

The body went on to recommend four approaches that could be used by Government to dual the A9, including the use of PFI or funding three large sections directly from the Government’s capital budget.

The document also suggested the creation of a dualling framework or the creation of much smaller sections of the road that can be contracted out in a way that is affordable to the Scottish Government.

CECA Scotland and Transport Scotland officials will appear before Holyrood’s Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee on Wednesday in relation to a petition which has reached more than 3,800 signatures with the petitioner, road safety campaigner Laura Hansler, also due to give evidence.

Convener Jackson Carlaw said: “We look forward to taking evidence from the petitioner, Laura Hansler, alongside representatives from Transport Scotland and the Civil Engineering Contractors Association later this week.

“11 years on from the Scottish Government’s commitment to dual the A9, there is real frustration from communities who rely on this vital route that progress on this project has been so slow.

“Our consideration of the petition, with evidence from the petitioner and transport industry experts, will allow us to examine what next steps we can take ahead of taking evidence from the new Transport Minister when they are appointed.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson responded: “Transport Scotland has a long record of successful procurement which balances the need to attract competition from the market place with protecting the public purse.

“Whilst the design and build works contract has been successfully implemented for over 20 years, they do acknowledge that recent years have seen a decline in the number of tenderers, in part due to the terms and conditions set out in the contract, including risk transfer. 

“A market engagement exercise has been undertaken with industry partners, including The Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA), to consider changes to better reflect current market conditions and risks to maximise interest and competition ahead of the new procurement for the A9 Dualling: Tomatin to Moy project.

“Transport Scotland welcomes CECA’s contribution as an interested party as it considers the most appropriate approach to balancing the need to generate effective tender competition with the importance of protecting the public purse.

“This is a complex process, and we need to carefully guard against any unintended consequences.”