Brussels, 21/01/2009 (Agence Europe) - The European Investment Bank (EIB) decided on Tuesday 20 January to lend £150 million (GBP) to Highway Management (Scotland) Ltd, a public-private consortium lead by Bilfinger Berger Project Investments, John Graham and Northstone, to support the upgrade and operation of an 18km stretch of road between Stepps and Haggs on the M80, which links Glasgow and Stirling.
The EIB states that improvements to the only remaining non-motorway section of the M80 will have an important positive impact on the local community, increasing the capacity of one of the most heavily used roads in Scotland. Reduced congestion will cut travel time for drivers and improved accessibility to the surrounding area will encourage economic growth. In addition, the project will lead to enhancements in travel safety and reductions in car emissions on this busy road.
The planned upgrades to the M80 are supported by Transport Scotland and the Scottish Executive within the context of the National Transport Policy. The M80 improvement project forms part of a larger plan to stabilise road traffic volumes by 2021. The project is also significant on an EU level as the M80 has been pinpointed by the European Commission as a strategic transport corridor through the UK. The Glasgow-Dunblane link forms part of the Trans-European Transport Networks (TEN-T) EU-wide transport corridors whose development is one of the EIB's main priorities. (O.L./transl.jl)