{"id":2874,"date":"2018-10-19T14:51:19","date_gmt":"2018-10-19T13:51:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.gov.scot\/scotlands-economy\/?p=2874"},"modified":"2018-10-19T14:51:19","modified_gmt":"2018-10-19T13:51:19","slug":"delivering-world-class-infrastructure-for-scotland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.gov.scot\/scotlands-economy\/2018\/10\/19\/delivering-world-class-infrastructure-for-scotland\/","title":{"rendered":"Delivering world class infrastructure for Scotland"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.gov.scot\/scotlands-economy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2018\/08\/MM-1.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2770 alignleft lazyload\" data-src=\"https:\/\/blogs.gov.scot\/scotlands-economy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2018\/08\/MM-1-300x191.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"191\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.gov.scot\/scotlands-economy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2018\/08\/MM-1-300x191.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blogs.gov.scot\/scotlands-economy\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2018\/08\/MM-1.jpg 640w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/191;\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px;font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif\"><span style=\"color: #000000\">When the First Minister announced a reshuffle of her Cabinet in the summer I was honoured to take on the role of Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity. The creation of this portfolio highlights the importance we as a Government place on investment in infrastructure as a key driver of economic growth. As the title suggests, it\u2019s a broad remit, which goes beyond focusing solely on transport, and growing Scotland\u2019s infrastructure is critical for future economic prosperity.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px;font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif\"><span style=\"color: #000000\">We know the value of investing in infrastructure goes beyond modern homes, schools, hospitals and world-leading engineering projects such as the Queensferry Crossing. It unlocks economic potential, supports jobs and allows our businesses and communities to flourish. \u00a0And it plays a crucial role in connecting our people, businesses and communities. Research by the International Monetary Fund, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Bank and the EU all draws the conclusion that infrastructure investment is a key driver of productivity growth.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px;font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif\"><span style=\"color: #000000\">That\u2019s why this year\u2019s Programme for Government sets out the most ambitious long-term level of infrastructure spend Scotland has ever seen. We are increasing infrastructure investment to \u00a31.5 billion per year higher by 2025-26 than in 2019-20. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px;font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif\"><span style=\"color: #000000\">Scottish Government infrastructure investment will increase by an additional 1% of current Scottish GDP and to achieve it we will need to continue to innovate in our models for investment and work across the public sector. It will be a step change in infrastructure investment that will deliver a long-term boost to Scotland\u2019s economy. It will be direct investment in our housing, schools, hospitals, transport and digital infrastructure. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px;font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif\"><span style=\"color: #000000\">The National Transport Strategy is looking at policies to address the challenges facing our transport system and how we can take advantage of opportunities to create the kind of transport system we want for the whole of Scotland. The Strategic Transport Project Review will set out Scotland\u2019s transport infrastructure investment priorities, taking a whole systems approach to deliver the outcomes we are seeking for Scotland\u2019s economy, climate change,\u00a0 health and tackling inequalities. And most importantly it\u2019s an investment that will be enjoyed by future generations.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px;font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif\"><span style=\"color: #000000\">While the levels of investment look impressive as numbers, spending figures can look quite abstract. In real terms, we\u2019ll create at least 20 electric towns across Scotland; make \u00a320 million available to enable more people and businesses to make the switch to electric vehicles; add more than 500 new ultra low emission vehicles to public sector fleets; add over 100 green buses to the fleet through the \u00a31.7 million Green Bus Fund; and much more.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px;font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif\"><span style=\"color: #000000\">The modernisation of our infrastructure is also progressing. We are investing \u00a325 million to improve access to 4G mobile connectivity, whilst looking to the future, we are developing a forward-looking 5G strategy for Scotland.\u00a0 We have exceeded our target of 95% fibre broadband coverage across Scotland and, building on that, an initial investment of \u00a3600 million will see a future-proofed fibre network reach some of our most challenging areas, whilst ensuring superfast speeds for every home and business in the country.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"margin: 0px;font-family: 'Calibri',sans-serif\"><span style=\"color: #000000\">The Programme for Government commits to a mission to raise Scotland\u2019s infrastructure spending to internationally competitive levels \u2013 it also underlines our progress on revolutionising our digital infrastructure and helps our people and businesses prepare for the work of the future.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When the First Minister announced a reshuffle of her Cabinet in the summer I was honoured to take on the role of Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity. The creation of this portfolio highlights the importance we as a Government place on investment in infrastructure as a key driver of economic growth. As the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":481,"featured_media":2876,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[324,325,5,9,256],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-broadband","category-broadband-economy","category-energy-2","category-investment","category-public-services"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Delivering world class infrastructure for Scotland - Scotland&#039;s Economy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.gov.scot\/scotlands-economy\/2018\/10\/19\/delivering-world-class-infrastructure-for-scotland\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Delivering world class infrastructure for Scotland - Scotland&#039;s Economy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When the First Minister announced a reshuffle of her Cabinet in the summer I was honoured to take on the role of Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity. 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