UK's Galliford Try and Balfour Beatty form joint venture to bid for £1.9 billion A9 road project

en.Wedoany.com Reported - Galliford Try's Morrison Construction and Balfour Beatty have formed a joint venture to jointly bid for Scotland's largest road project—the £1.9 billion dual-carriageway upgrade of the remaining sections of the A9 between Perth and Inverness.

The joint venture, comprising Balfour Beatty and Galliford Try's Scottish subsidiary Morrison Construction, aims to bid for the final five contracts under Transport Scotland's new NEC4 framework approach. The successful bidder will deliver approximately 92 kilometers of dual carriageway between 2027 and 2035.

Balfour Beatty has a strong track record on this project, having completed the Luncarty to Pass of Birnam section and currently delivering the Tomatin to Moy section in partnership with Wills Bros. For Morrison Construction, this collaboration marks its return to bidding for major transport infrastructure projects, aligning with reforms in Transport Scotland's procurement strategy.

Transport Scotland's procurement strategy has shifted from project-by-project tendering to an early contractor involvement model. This model offers a more balanced risk allocation approach, giving contractors greater influence over design development.

The first contract to be awarded under the framework will be the £553 million Dalraddy to Slochd section north of Aviemore, including new grade-separated junctions at South Aviemore, Granish, and Blackmount. Framework bidding is expected to conclude by the end of the year, with the successful contractor announced before the first commission is awarded.