Queensferry Crossing builders set to lose £100 million in penalties for finishing project late

CONTRACTORS building the new Queensferry Crossing are set to lose more than £100 million on the iconic project.

The Sunday Post understands an opening date for the crossing – which has already been delayed twice – will be announced later this month.

But because the £1.3 bn project was built under a fixed-price contract the four firms responsible for the project are on the hook for massive losses.

Infrastructure Secretary Keith Brown has revealed the scheme will cost in the region of £1 million for every day it goes over its mid-June contractual competition date.

This means the firms face losses of at least £70m if the project ends up going to the end of the mid-July to August range.

However, losses revealed by the junior partner of the scheme, Galliford Try, suggest overall losses could top more than £100m.

The Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC) is now desperately trying to persuade transport chiefs to shift the agreed completion date to avoid paying damages on top of losses from the overrun.

One construction insider said: “This is good news for the taxpayer, and credit to the government for getting this on a fixed-price contract, but terrible news for the firms – they are big enough to soak this up but it is still a sore one.”

Labour transport spokesman Neil Bibby said: “The SNP’s handling of this project has been beset by problems from the very start, including delays and cost overruns. We need a full explanation from Keith Brown about whether or not the taxpayer will lose out if the contractors aren’t obliged to pay damages.”

Speaking in Holyrood last week, Mr Brown said: “The contractor will bear the costs to the tune of about £1m a day in terms of the additional costs which are being incurred.”

However, last month construction group Galliford Try revealed it had set aside nearly £80m for overruns relating to its role in building the Queensferry Crossing and the new bypass around Aberdeen.

The firm refused to break down the split between the two schemes but Galliford, through its Morrison Construction, was only a junior partner in bridge project with a 16% stake.

The other partners – Hochtief from Germany, American Bridge from the USA and Dragados from Spain – all have a 28% stake and The Sunday Post understands they will be liable for more of the overruns than Morrison.

The Sunday Post first revealed doubts over the new crossing’s opening date in December 2015 and then in March this year we revealed the opening date had been delayed again.

A FCBC spokesman said they could not comment on the grounds of commercial confidentiality.