A9 dualling delay: Smokescreen of reasons for failure
Confirmation that work to dual the A9 between Inverness and Perth will miss the 2025 deadline has prompted anger and dismay.
This week, we have been speaking to different users of the road from a farmer to a haulage industry representative for their reactions. Today, George Rennie gives his view:
The industry expert
Inverness-based George Rennie is a retired chartered engineer who held a number of senior management positions in a major international consultancy.
He said: “There are two aspects of the project where criticism seems valid. The reason for the February 8 announcement by the minister was the failure of the tendering exercise for the Tomatin to Moy section. The process started in December 2021 with final tenders required by October 2022. Three contractors were invited to tender, Balfour Beatty, Graham Construction and Wills Brothers. The minister advised that one firm withdrew early in the process and a second withdrew on the day before the tenders were to be submitted. There was only one tender received and its price was 'significantly higher than expected'.
“When risks are transferred to the contractor which it regards as significant and beyond its ability to control, it faces the possibility of losing a substantial sum on the contract. It may therefore set aside money in its tender to cover these risks; this will reduce the chance of it losing money and, if the risk does not occur, gives the opportunity to make a windfall profit. However, it makes the contract more expensive for the roads authority.
“In some cases, the risk is judged so great that the tenderer would rather withdraw than expose its shareholders to a high likelihood of commercial loss and reputational damage.
- Deadline could be missed by another 10 years
- Regular visitor to Highlands calls for double white lines
- View of the farming lobby
- Haulage industry calls on government to commit to completing work
- Sound of sirens is horrible, says campaigner
“The minister’s statement has laid down a smokescreen of reasons for the failure of the tendering exercise including Brexit, the pandemic and the Ukraine war. Some of these would have affected the price but evidence strongly suggests that the underlying reason for the tendering exercise failing is that companies were uncomfortable with the proposed contract. The minister has now undertaken to work with the construction industry to modify the contract terms. It should not have taken an expensive and time-consuming failed tendering exercise to reach this conclusion; had Transport Scotland and the minister been more engaged with the market, the contract issued with the tender documents could have been acceptable to tenderers.
“Secondly, until February 8 official completion of the A9 dualling project was 2025, a wholly unrealistic ambition. Even now, the cost of the project quoted on Transport Scotland’s website remains £3 billion (at 2008 prices). Good programme management would see the schedule and budget updated regularly with the risk contingency adjusted in the light of new information. It is indefensible to still be referring to the original schedule and budget 14 years on and with substantial investigations and construction work completed.
“It does not seem unreasonable that once a year the minister should have published a report updating the schedule and budget in the light of work completed and with increasing clarity around the original areas of uncertainty. Had there been this degree of transparency, we may have found the project at the same stage but perhaps there would have been less cause for anger.”
