A series of cost increases and delays have hit a number of major construction projects in Scotland, the Scottish Government has revealed.
The news was revealed in a report on the progress of major capital projects in the country, with inflation, unforeseen construction site difficulties, design reviews, longer commissioning periods, health and safety issues, weather, and capacity of supply chains described as being behind the delays.
The report revealed that the build of HMP Glasgow has experienced a cost increase of £252 million and faces a 12-month delay due to inflationary pressures within the construction industry, which has impacted on costs of raw materials as well as labour and production globally. Furthermore, the current volume of public sector prison new build works has impacted on capacity of supply chain required to engage on this type of project.
Further to this, the A9 Dualling Tomatin to Moy faces a circa six-month delay due to seasonal constraints on weather-sensitive work and environmental restrictions for working in watercourses, whilst the East Kilbride Rail enhancement project has seen a £3.9 million cost increase.
Construction issues caused by the incorrect installation of pipework and risks in relation to fire compliance measures have meant that there is now no set opening date for the new ward at NHS Forth Valley National Treatment Centre. The NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde North East Hub build is also delayed by three months due to a ‘longer than expected commissioning period’.
Design reviews, which have now been concluded for the NHS Grampian Aberdeen Baird Family Hospital and ANCHOR Centre means that occupation dates for either facility are still to be confirmed.
The report continues, “In the recent reports, cost increases have been driven by higher than expected levels of inflation and delays in projects have been down to supply chain issues and labour shortages. All of which have been principally driven by a combination of the recovery from COVID-19, Brexit and the war in Ukraine.
“In this latest report, inflation is still a factor for cost increases within the construction industry. In relation to time delays, we are seeing a range of reasons including seasonal constraints on weather-sensitive work, unforeseen construction site difficulties, design reviews, longer commissioning periods, installation issues, health and safety issues and the capacity of supply chains.
“We are maximising the funding available to deliver on the priorities of this Government. The 2025-26 Scottish Budget set out over £7 billion of capital spending which was targeted to support delivery of the Government’s priorities and specifically to boost economic growth, maintain high-quality public services and infrastructure, eliminate child poverty and grasp the opportunities of net zero. Progress is being made to deliver key infrastructure investments and major projects have been delivered against a continuing back drop of challenging economic and financial conditions.
“We remain firmly committed to infrastructure investment as a key factor in securing economic growth and high-quality public infrastructure across Scotland. The 2025-26 Scottish Budget commits to progressing the work to replace NHS Lanarkshire’s Monklands University Hospital and NHS Lothian’s Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion, both of which are included within this progress update. The 2025-26 Scottish Budget also commits to progressing the work to replace NHS Highland’s Belford Hospital and this project will be included within future progress updates once it has reached outline business case approval stage.
“The high levels of construction inflation in recent years, combined with lower than expected capital grant and the need to prioritise funding to new additions to the infrastructure pipeline, has meant that the infrastructure pipeline we set out in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment Plan (IIP) cannot be delivered in full within the timeframe covered by the IIP. In order to provide clarity for parliament, industry, and all other interested stakeholders on what will be delivered within the extended IIP period up to 2026-27, the cabinet secretary for finance and local government has committed to publishing a reset of the infrastructure pipeline following the UK spending review in June 2025. The cabinet secretary has asked officials to develop plans to publish the reset pipeline in September 2025 and this work is now underway.”
