The Scottish Government has named the preferred bidders for two maintenance contracts covering trunk roads in the north of the country, worth more than £1.27bn in total.
These deals are the second pair of new generation trunk road contracts in Scotland and are set to be awarded to the same firms that secured the new contracts in the south of the country.
The North West unit is set to be operated by BEAR Scotland, which has operated the south east contract since 2020, while the North East Unit will be run by Amey, the operator in the south west since 2020.
The northern contracts will begin on 16 August 2022 and will run for at least eight years, with a potential extension of up to four years.
Transport minister Jenny Gilruth said: ‘I’m pleased to name the preferred bidders for these new contracts, which will bring improved levels of service to the trunk road network in the north west and north east of Scotland.
‘The improved resilience measures in these contracts aim to ensure consistent, predictable and reliable journeys for road users. The contracts also take into account the Scottish Government’s climate change and sustainability targets.
‘Around 650 operational and professional jobs will be supported by these contracts and local firms are also set to benefit through the wider supply chain.’
Under the rules for the two rounds of procurement, the same company could only operate a maximum of one contract in the north and one in the south.
This meant that Bear, which currently runs both contracts in the North had to give up at least one contract, but it has held on to the other one.
