£100m infrastructure stimulus projects unveiled

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has unveiled the sixteen projects that will benefit from the infrastructure stimulus package to support the economy following the EU referendum result.First mooted last month, the projects will support and create employment and are being brought forward as part of a £100 million capital investment package.They include a £20m investment in energy saving measures for homes and public sector buildings, £33m to upgrade and maintain the further and higher education estate and £10m will go towards local economic development projects across the country.The announcement was made as part of the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government which was delivered MSPs at Holyrood yesterday.Each project has been assessed against a range of criteria including how quickly work can start, the number of jobs that will be supported or created, the likely impact on the supply chain and geographic spread.As well as the initial £5m for the Golden Jubilee Hospital to bring expansion of its elective centre forward from 2018-19 to this year, the following projects have been selected because of the early benefits they offer to the Scottish economy:£10m for domestic energy efficiency measures – helping make homes cheaper to heat and reducing the costs of energy bills for householders£10m to make public sector buildings more energy efficient – creating and safeguarding jobs as well as ensuring long-term savings to the public purse£1.3m to support Higher Education research, securing match-funding from the UK Government£3.13m on rail projects (including wi-fi and air conditioning improvements, passenger counting equipment, ticket vending machines and ticket office at Blairhill)£0.5m on supporting business access to the Digital Internet Exchange£10m to support the delivery of capital projects for local economic development£0.57m for Clyde Gateway by supporting the Dalmarnock Industrial Park power upgrade£23m to support the maintenance of the Higher Education estate across Scotland (that is expected to be match-funded by the sector)£15m towards trunk road maintenance£10m to support the maintenance of the Further Education estate across Scotland£3.5m for refurbishment of Inverclyde Hospital and Glasgow Royal Infirmary£2m for Scottish Fire and Rescue Service estate maintenance£2m to improve the Police Scotland estate maintenance£2m for Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service estate maintenance£2m for Historic Environment Scotland investment in properties in care