OFFSHORE chiefs say Aberdeen’s future as a global energy centre is under threat because of a lack of investment in transport and infrastructure.
They believe urgent action is needed to keep the oil and gas sector anchored to the Granite City and delivering massive economic benefits to the north-east.
Industry body Oil and Gas UK (OGUK) criticised the poor quality of the region’s infrastructure and said it was “crying out” for a cash injection.
The warning was issued on the same day that public-private transport partnership Nestrans said just 1% of the £1.5billion spent on major road and rail projects in Scotland since 2005 went to the north-east.
In its 2012 economic report, OGUK said: “It is a matter of concern that transport and other infrastructure in a city of such importance to this industry and the economy as a whole should exhibit so many shortcomings.
“If the oil and gas supply chain is to remain anchored in and around Aberdeen, with the immense benefits which the city, its hinterland and Scotland have derived during the past 40 years, investment in infrastructure by the relevant authorities cries out for long-overdue attention.”
The group also said its members’ hopes of building their export businesses hinged on radical action being taken.
Nestrans has produced a new guide for politicians and civic leaders highlighting “stark facts” about spending.
It sets out how the north-east’s share of national transport expenditure stacks up against its above-average rail, road and air usage.
Aberdeenshire councillor Peter Argyle, the group’s chairman, said yesterday £1.3billion worth of transport projects were under way around Scotland – but none in the north-east.
Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray accounted for just 7.5% of the £7.6billion earmarked for future projects, he added.
Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce chief executive Bob Collier said investment in transport infrastructure was the “key issue” for businesses in the region.
He added: “It is reasonable for a world-class centre of excellence in the energy sector to expect at least as good as what the rest of Scotland and the UK has got already.
“Entrepreneurial energy in the local economy will falter if businesses decide it is more profitable to base themselves elsewhere.”
A Scottish Government spokesman said the north-east was getting “significant” transport investment, citing the £200million earmarked for Aberdeen-Inverness rail improvements and plans for train stations at Kintore and Dalcross.
He added that the long-awaited Aberdeen bypass would “provide substantial benefits to the economy”, while other planned road projects and a new 15-year franchise for the Caledonian Sleeper train service were examples of substantial investment in north-east transport.