- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Thursday, 26 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 23 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how estimated construction costs per kilometre for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route compare with the benchmark costs per kilometre used by the Highways Agency in England and Wales in estimating construction costs for proposed new roads.
Answer
The estimate was notmade on a cost per kilometre basis.
- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 23 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether changing the route for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route from the Murtle to the Miltimber option increased the projected cost of the scheme and, if so, by how much.
Answer
The Murtle route wasestimated (in 2005 and based upon an opening year of 2010) to cost between £210million and £280 million. The Milltimber Brae and Fastlink has an estimated costof between £295 million and £395 million.
- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 23 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether its review of major capital projects conducted in June (a) included any new assessment of current cost estimates and (b) identified risks for each project.
Answer
The review consideredthe latest information available on the programme, costs and risks of each of themajor capital projects.
- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 23 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what impact the greater length of the Miltimber option compared with the Murtle option will have on total vehicle emissions, both in respect of air quality and greenhouse gas emissions, resulting from the proposed Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.
Answer
A comparison betweenthe Murtle Route and the Milltimber Brae and Fastlink optionswas carried out prior to the decision in December 2005. This can be downloaded fromthe project website
www.awpr.co.uk. The analysispredicted that the in the case of the most commonly measured indicators of air quality(Carbon Monoxide (CO), Hydrocarbons, Oxides of Nitrogen (NOx), Particulates (PM10)and Carbon Dioxide (CO
2)) the Milltimber Brae and Fastlink produced alower overall percentage increase in emissions than the Murtle Route.A more comprehensiveanalysis of the air quality impacts of the Milltimber Brae and Fastlink route forthe AWPR is available in the Environmental Statement published in December 2006and which can be downloaded from the project website
www.awpr.co.uk.
- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 23 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any major transport project with a benefit to cost ratio of 1.3 would meet the threshold requirements of (a) STAG appraisal or (b) the UK Government’s current green book methodology for project assessment and whether any scheme with such a ratio would be likely to secure approval and funding.
Answer
Within Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) and the Green Book, there is no thresholdrequirement for Benefit Cost ratios (BCRs). STAG ensures that the contribution of transport improvementsto the economy is fully assessed alongside contributions and impacts on the environment,accessibility and social inclusion, safety, and integration. Approval for funding is based on the assessmentof the project across all five criteria.
- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 27 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 23 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-1811 by Stewart Stevenson on 24 July 2007, when the cost estimate from the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route was first made.
Answer
The £295 million to£395 million cost estimate for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route was first made prior to the announcement of the preferredroute choice in December 2005.
- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 23 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive what benchmark was used in terms of costs per kilometre for estimating the construction costs of the Waverley railway line and how this figure compares with the benchmark figures used by the Strategic Rail Authority in estimating construction costs for new lines elsewhere in the United Kingdom.
Answer
The promoter has reportedto the Scottish Executive that they did not use a benchmark cost/kilometre to calculatethe capital costs due to the number of variables along the route. Instead, the promoterused a “bottom-up” approach which was based on calculating actual quantities forthe construction components based on the preliminary design and applying the mostapplicable industry rates to these components. This methodology was widely acceptedto be a more robust approach to the benchmark cost/kilometre figures used by theStrategic Rail Authority in estimating construction costs for new lines else wherein the United Kingdom where there is insufficient information.
- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 23 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how many civil servants were involved in the review of major transport projects conducted in June; how many hours of staff time were dedicated to it, and what the cost was of conducting the review.
Answer
The review of majortransport projects was conducted by a small team of officials from Transport Scotland alongside their normal duties. Transport Scotland doesnot keep records of the time spent by officials on individual tasks.
- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 23 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive whether any relaxation on building in the green belt will be permitted in relation to sites adjacent to or in the vicinity of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route.
Answer
I refer the memberto the answer to question S3W-2717 on 23 August 2007. All answers to written parliamentary questions are availableon the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at
http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.
- Asked by: Des McNulty, MSP for Clydebank and Milngavie, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 31 July 2007
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Current Status:
Answered by Stewart Stevenson on 23 August 2007
To ask the Scottish Executive how much land it needs to acquire to build the M74 extension; how many significant landholdings are involved, and who the owners are.
Answer
The land requiredfor the M74 Completion was identified on the Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) whichwas made on 24 March 2005.A copy of the CPOcan be viewed on the M74 Completion Website
www.m74completion.com.
