THE number of building projects being submitted to the Construction Pipeline Forecast Tool continues to grow, with 12 more Scottish public bodies registering on the platform and inputting details of their plans.
The total number of construction projects now stands at 1,232, valued at over £17 billion.
The Construction Pipeline Forecast Tool was developed by the Scottish Futures Trust to provide the sector with greater clarity on future Scottish public sector projects, allowing businesses to plan and resource accordingly.
In its recent six-month refresh, the Forecast Tool now has details of planned projects from 45 public bodies for the next five years.
Paul Dodd, senior associate director at the Scottish Futures Trust, said, “The increase in the number of public bodies submitting their project details onto this platform will be welcome news to the businesses the length and breadth of Scotland that are using the Forecast Tool. The increase in the total value of projects contained in the pipeline although welcomed, does not directly indicate an increase in new opportunities but more the increase in public bodies submitting data.
“Public bodies continue to manage their ongoing challenges in relation to funding, inflation and prioritisation of their capital projects. That said, the Forecast Tool does provide improved transparency on the existing and planned pipeline for the public sector in Scotland, and will continue to support businesses to plan and prepare for future opportunities.”
Following feedback, a number of new features have been introduced, including a way to allow users to find out the ‘funding status’ of a project. This is in addition to other features such as a filter to find a project’s location or the amount of investment planned per sector.
The Forecast Tool also encourages greater collaboration between public sector organisations through a better understanding of their respective pipelines and to share knowledge and best practice.
Of the 1,232 projects listed on the free-to-use platform, 50% are below £2 million in value, emphasising the focus on providing commercial opportunities to SMEs.
John Gunn co-chair of the Pipeline Working Group for Scotland’s Transformation Action Plan, said, “It is positive to have more public bodies supporting the Construction Pipeline Forecast Tool. The tool provides a valuable resource for industry to improve transparency and support the delivery and planning of Scotland’s public sector construction pipeline.”
