It is also unclear what discussions were taking place, or what agreements had been reached, within the Scottish Government about providing capital funding for the programme given that by 2018 this was the only option for meeting the 2025 completion date.
The Committee heard from witnesses, including Máiri McAllan and Nicola Sturgeon, that while the adoption of a privately funded approach for A9 dualling would have resulted in the 2025 date being missed, a traditional design and build, capital funded option for the remainder of the project had not been ruled out, and remained a possible option until late 2022.