The project is being delivered in partnership by Transport Scotland, Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council and is being procured under the Scottish government's non-profit distribution (NPD) model.
Construction was approved by the Scottish government five years ago but has been held up by legal challenges. It will now start later this year, with completion set for spring 2018. Connect Roads will then manage and maintain it for 30 years.
The AWPR project includes the design and construction of 46km of new dual carriageway between Stonehaven and Charleston, in the south, and Blackdog in the north and a further 12km of upgraded existing dual carriageway between Blackdog and Tipperty. The contract will also include the construction of 40km of new side roads, 30km of access tracks and 72 new bridges, including two significant focal point bridges over the rivers Dee and Don.
Balfour Beatty, Carillion and Galliford Try will each invest £20m into the project as equal partners.
Scotland’s transport minister Keith Brown announced Connect’s appointment on a visit to a site on Findon Junction on the A90 where advance works for the project are already underway, just one of a number of advance works being delivered by local firms along the length of the scheme.
Mr Brown said: “Over the next three decades, our investment in the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route project is expected to bring in an additional £6 billion to the local economy and create around 14,000 new jobs. During construction we would expect to see benefits similar in scale to the recently completed M74 scheme, which directly generated 900 construction jobs. It will also provide on-the-job training for apprentices and local employment opportunities.
“We want to see more of this success across Scotland, including the north east. Our commitment to improvements at the Haudagain Roundabout once the AWPR is finished, a new Inveramsay Bridge on the A96, and a longer term £3 billion commitment to dual the key route between Aberdeen and Inverness will all support local businesses and the economy across the region, and well as deliver tangible improvements – up to 27 minutes off journey times – for the thousands of drivers who use the roads across the north east.”
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