THE number of projects being submitted by Scotland’s public bodies to the Construction Pipeline Forecast Tool has continued to grow.
50 public bodies are now publishing their planned construction projects on the free to access platform, which currently contains 1,192 projects valued at over £18 billion to be delivered by 2035.
The resource, developed and managed by the Scottish Futures Trust, is designed to provide the construction sector with greater clarity on future public sector projects, allowing businesses to plan and resource accordingly.
Of the 1,192 projects listed on the platform, 50% are below £2 million in value, emphasising the focus on providing improved transparency to the thousands of SMEs that make up Scotland’s construction sector.
Claire Pollock, data & insights manager at the Scottish Futures Trust, said, “The continued engagement and support by our public sector partners is greatly appreciated and we have seen an increase in membership and usage of the platform. This underpins our ambition to improve the transparency of Scotland’s construction pipeline to support the sector.
“In addition, the recent launch of the UK NISTA Infrastructure Pipeline provides further transparency of UK Government funded infrastructure projects in Scotland. This compliments the national picture of our own pipeline tool.”
Providing industry with a pipeline of future construction work that provides transparency and supports jobs is one of the 10 pillars in the Transformation Action Plan developed by the Construction Leadership Forum.
The latest pipeline update identifies £7.2 billion worth of projects are to be delivered by 2030, with around 63% to be procured through existing frameworks.
As frameworks provide a significant method of delivery, SFT, through support from Geisel Consulting, has updated the frameworks and development partners mapping tool that is available via the Tender Opportunities tab on the Pipeline website. This provides a directory of development frameworks and partners delivering large volumes of public sector projects across Scotland.
Peter Queen of Geisel Consulting said, “We have been helping Scottish companies identify and compete successfully for public sector contracts for over a decade. Tools such as the Construction Pipeline Forecast Tool and now the enhanced Framework Mapping tool, which we were proud to support, provide the insight businesses need to plan for the long term and invest with confidence. This clarity and visibility help create an environment where more businesses can contribute to the delivery of projects that shape Scotland’s future.”
The team is hosting a free to attend webinar on Thursday 25 September where they will demonstrate market trends affecting the construction pipeline, along with how to access key insights.