MILLIONS of pounds is to be spent on the ongoing scheme to replace unpopular sodium lights with white energy saving bulbs.

This week, city councillors will be asked to approve a contract worth almost £2m for the design, delivery and installation of around 3300 LED lights which will replace the orange bulbs in existing lampposts.

They will be connected to a city-wide control system which will be able to alter the brightness of street lights depending on a number of factors including the time of day.

If the contract with electricity firm SSE is approved, it could be extended in future years to provide a further 20,000 white lights, provided money is available.

Councillors will be told the new lights will reduce the city's carbon footprint and would allow Glasgow to compete with the best cities in the world for investment, business and events.

A report says: "The project covers the replacement of legacy sodium lanterns contained within lighting columns across the city with new and more energy efficient LED lanterns.

"These will help reduce energy usage on street lighting across the city, reducing carbon emissions.

"The local economy will benefit from modern, efficient street lighting that will make the city better lit and more attractive to visitors, as well as providing a key service for local communities."

Four years ago, the council announced it was going to replace thousands of unpopular sodium lights with new brighter "intelligent lighting".

It allows for lighting to be increased if there is an event in an area such as a concert or street festival.

Any faults in the system can also be automatically reported to the operations centre, speeding up repair times and increasing efficiency.

LED lighting has already been introduced on most of the main roads leading into the city.

City council leader Susan Aitken said: "Intelligent street lighting offers the chance of more effective, efficient and environmentally friendly lighting in Glasgow.

"This lighting can be centrally controlled, allowing energy to be used when and where in the city it is needed most and promises to be a major improvement on existing systems."