The Scottish government’s £745m Aberdeen bypass project is providing plenty of work for construction companies but not so much for Scottish ones.

Infrastructure secretary Keith Brown has revealed that only a third of the £350m subcontracts have been awarded to Scottish firms by the English contracting joint venture of Balfour Beatty, Carillion and Galliford Try.

However, Mr Brown seemed to think that was plenty. He said: “Over £115m has been awarded to subcontractors based in Scotland, and with around an estimated £60m subcontracts still to advertised during the construction phase through the Public Contracts Scotland website, there are still many upcoming opportunities for Scottish-based companies.

“As part of these sub-contracts, £55 million has been awarded to Breedon Aggregates and Whitemountain, long-established businesses in Scotland, to supply and lay asphalt across the project.

“These subcontracts are just one example of how this £745m investment in the north east is stimulating the local economy during the construction phase, with many more significant benefits for road users, businesses, communities and industry on the way.”

Mr Brown said that construction of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route/Balmedie to Tipperty project (AWPR/B-T) is now “well underway” he said “and remains on schedule to open in winter 2017”.