CRUCIAL projects worth billions of pounds to Scotland’s economy face cumulative delays of more than a decade, it has been revealed.
Official documents show hospitals, roads and even a new prison have suffered ongoing setbacks and ballooning costs.
Troubled efforts to slash train journey times between Edinburgh and Glasgow have been held up by two years.
Meanwhile, Transport Secretary Michael Matheson recently confirmed there is no “definitive date” for the opening for the new £745 million Aberdeen bypass.
Figures highlighted by the Scottish Tories show 12 key projects are now facing cumulative delays of more than ten years in total, with critics accusing the SNP of a “record of incompetence”.
Scottish Conservative shadow finance secretary Murdo Fraser called on SNP ministers to take action.
He said: “It’s understandable that there will always be the odd delay to major projects, which can occur for a range of issues.
“But under the SNP this appears to have become the norm.
“And even when projects are finished on time, like the Queensferry Crossing, it seems beset by problems afterwards due to a rushed approach to get over the line.
“Within these new delays there are some serious projects which make a material difference to people’s lives, not least the new Sick Kids hospital in Edinburgh.
“As ever with the SNP, warm words are not backed up by action, and the result of that is a decade of delays on key infrastructure projects.”
Projects suffering setbacks include the new HMP Highland, which will replace the 116-year-old Inverness Prison – one of the oldest and smallest in Scotland. It was meant to open its doors in spring 2021, but this has been pushed back by around six months.
Elsewhere, Edinburgh’s state-of-the-art, £230m Royal Hospital for Sick Children has been held up by at least 17 months. NHS bosses have been unable to put a definitive date on its opening.
Long-awaited works to Aberbeen’s notorious Haudagain roundabout have also been pushed back by a year.
Transport chiefs say it will now be operational in 2021, due to “one of the two bidders withdrawing from the competition”.
The Edinburgh-Glasgow Improvement Programme – which aims to slice 10 minutes off train journeys between the cities – has suffered a two-year delay, while the latest update notes the cost of the project has ballooned from £795 million to £858 million.
Meanwhile, the construction of two new CalMac ferries – the MV Glen Sannox and Hull 802 – has suffered repeated delays.
The project previously attracted controversy over loans provided by the Government.
MV Glen Sannox will now be delivered in summer 2019, with Hull 802 following almost a year later.
All of the latest planning updates are included in the Scottish Government's infrastructure investment plan, which provides details for projects with a capital value of £20m or more.
Scottish Liberal Democrat transport spokesman Mike Rumbles called on SNP ministers to “get a grip”.
He said: “The SNP government’s record of incompetence in overseeing major projects grows week by week.
“They really do need to get a grip of the basics of project management.
“Behind each of these delays is a community awaiting a modern hospital, a safe school or a road to be opened.”
Mr Rumbles previously warned of “substantial problems” with a bridge over the River Don, which has been blamed for an indefinite delay in the new Aberdeen bypass.
He labelled the Scottish Government's handling of the project an "utter disgrace".
However a spokesman for Mr Matheson hit back at the criticism, pointing out many high-profile scheme were delivered on time or ahead of schedule.
He said: “It’s good of the Tories to highlight just some examples of the extraordinary number of capital projects the SNP Government is investing in across Scotland.
“They didn’t mention the projects which were completed well ahead of schedule under this government, such as the M74 extension, nor did they acknowledge their own failure to deliver on many of these projects during their decades in power – most notably with the AWPR, which was first mooted in the 1940s but is only now becoming a reality under the SNP.”
Last month it emerged finishing works on the £1.35bn Queensferry Crossing will continue for another year.
The bridge opened to traffic in August 2017, but there have seen been repeated delays to work aimed at clearing up "snagging" issues.
Officials said there had been "difficulties in mobilising resources", but MSPs were reassured there would be no extra cost to the public and no impact on journey times.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel