A leading haulage boss believes delays to a series of major road projects in north-east Scotland could lead to the area becoming "ignored and frozen out".
Eddie Anderson, MD at Aberdeen-based ARR Craib, says hold-ups to several important schemes - including the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR); the A90 Balmedie to Tipperty dual-carriageway; improvements to the Haudagain roundabout in Aberdeen; and the £31.5m A96 Fochabers by-pass project - have been a source of "major concern and frustration" for hauliers in the area.
Anderson has signed an open letter criticising the delays, along with 15 other north-east Scotland business leaders, to Scottish transport minister Stewart Stevenson.
"There is a very clear and present danger of the north-east [of Scotland] being ignored and frozen out," Anderson says. "Early progress with these projects will also help to support the construction industry in the region, a sector badly hit by the recession. We just need the priority and urgency."
It had been hoped that construction of the AWPR, overseen by the Scottish government, would start in 2011. However, legal challenges have significantly delayed the project.
Regarding the Balmedie to Tipperty scheme, a public local inquiry was held in August 2009, but the report is currently with ministers.
The Scottish government says it wants to begin immediate improvements to the Haudagain roundabout, but only after completion of the AWPR.
The Fochabers by-pass scheme - a new 5km single-carriageway trunk road being built on the main A96 route between Aberdeen and Inverness - is due to be completed in spring 2012.
A spokesman for Transport Scotland says: "The Scottish government understands the important contribution that Aberdeen and the north-east [of Scotland] makes to Scotland's wider economy, and we are fully committed to investing in transport infrastructure in the region, including the AWPR."
Phil Flanders, Road Haulage Association director of policy for Scotland, says "many of his members" have been affected by the delays, while Chris MacRae, Freight Transport Association head of policy for Scotland, says such infrastructure investment is a "pre-requisite of economic growth".
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