Infrastructure investment

Infrastructure in Scotland is funded by user charges, regulatory regimes, private sector, UK Government and local authorities as well as central Scottish Government funds.

Our infrastructure investment programme is focussed on delivering good outcomes for the people of Scotland and in particular, transitioning to net zero emissions, driving inclusive economic growth and building resilient and sustainable places.

This page includes information on:

the consultation on the Infrastructure Strategy 2027 to 2037
the Infrastructure Delivery Pipeline 2026
previous infrastructure plans
the Infrastructure Commission for Scotland
the Infrastructure Investment Board
the Scottish Futures Trust
NPD and PPP/PFI projects
Tax incremental financing
contacting us

Consultation on the Infrastructure Strategy 2027 to 2037

The Infrastructure Strategy sets out a ten year framework (2027 to 2037) to guide infrastructure planning, investment, and delivery across Scotland. The consultation on the Infrastructure Strategy 2027 to 2037 was published on 13 January 2026 and closes 5 May 2026.

Infrastructure Delivery Pipeline 2026

The Infrastructure Delivery Pipeline 2026 was published on 13 January 2026 and sets out the infrastructure projects over £5 million and programmes over £20 million with agreed outline business cases (or equivalent) and agreed funding. The pipeline was published alongside the Scottish Spending Review 2026.

The Infrastructure Delivery Pipeline is a live document, and new projects and programmes will be added to the pipeline at future updates, as investment plans are agreed.

We will report on progress delivering the projects and programmes set out in the Delivery Pipeline every six months. We are working to improve transparency further and will continue to engage with Audit Scotland and the Scottish Parliament’s Public Audit Committee to provide the most useful information to the public and the Scottish Parliament.

Previous infrastructure plans

Our Infrastructure Investment Plan for Scotland 2021-2022 to 2025-2026 was published on 4 February 2021 together with the Capital Spending Review, providing a strong and coherent framework for directing, analysing, shaping, and prioritising future commitments.

Read more about our latest progress in carrying out this plan:

We published our draft Infrastructure Investment Plan for Scotland 2021-2022 to 2025-2026 on 24 September 2020.

Before that, the Infrastructure Investment Plan 2015 set out the priorities for investment and a long term strategy for the development of public infrastructure in Scotland.

Businesses can find information about public sector infrastructure projects at the following links:

Infrastructure Commission for Scotland

To support delivery of the National Infrastructure Mission and development of our Infrastructure Investment Plan, Scottish Ministers established an independent Infrastructure Commission for Scotland. Read further information on the Commission’s work and its membership.

The Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Infrastructure and Connectivity responded to the Commission’s initial call for evidence, highlighting the work we are doing to develop strategic plans and priorities for the future, alongside our trade priorities and place-making policies.

The Infrastructure Commission for Scotland started work in 2019 and has reported its findings in two phases:

Phase 1: recommendations on the vision, ambition and strategic priorities for infrastructure were published in A Blueprint for Scotland in January 2020.

Phase 2: involved providing further advice on the delivery of infrastructure. This advice was published in Delivery Findings Report July 2020.

The draft Infrastructure Investment Plan for Scotland 2021-2022 to 2025-2026 sets out our long term vision of infrastructure supporting an inclusive, net zero carbon economy in Scotland. That vision is supported by three core themes of enabling the transition to net zero and environmental sustainability, boosting inclusive economic growth and building resilient and sustainable places. The Plan responds to the Infrastructure Commission’s Phase 1 recommendations and shows how we will implement them in consultation with industry, delivery partners and the people of Scotland. We are reviewing the Commission’s Phase 2 findings and will respond more fully on those in due course.

Infrastructure Investment Board

We established the Infrastructure Investment Board (IIB) in November 2010 to take an executive role in infrastructure governance, working alongside individual portfolio investment boards. IIB's objectives, as set out in the Infrastructure Investment Plan, are:

delivering sustainable economic growth through increasing competitiveness and tackling inequality
managing the transition to a more resource-efficient, lower-carbon economy
supporting delivery of efficient and high-quality public services
supporting employment and opportunity across Scotland

Scottish Futures Trust

We established the Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) in 2008 to help ensure better value for taxpayers' money in the delivery of vital public infrastructure projects. It is a limited company owned by Scottish Ministers, whose activities are overseen by a board appointed by Scottish Ministers.

The SFT aims to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of infrastructure investment in Scotland by working collaboratively with public bodies and industry.

Contact the SFT at mailbox@scottishfuturestrust.org.uk

NPD and PFI projects

We provide funding or part-funding for a number of Non-Profit Distributing (NPD) and Public Private Partnership/Private Finance Initiative (PPP/PFI) projects in Scotland.

The following links provide details of the actual/estimated annual unitary payment charges paid/to be paid by public sector procuring bodies in Scotland to private sector consortiums for services agreed over the length of the contracts.

Tax incremental financing

Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) is a means of funding public sector investment in infrastructure which is judged to be necessary for regeneration but which may be otherwise unaffordable to local authorities. The goal of TIF is to support and guide the limited public finance available towards assisting regeneration and helping to leverage additional private sector capital.

How TIF works

TIF uses future additional revenue gains from taxes to finance the borrowing required to fund public infrastructure improvements, which will in turn create those revenue gains. For example, when a public project such as a new road system is constructed within a specific area, it may increase the value of the land and encourage new property and business investment. The increased site value and investment generates increased tax revenues, called the 'tax increment', which will pay off the money borrowed to construct the road.

TIF in Scotland

We support a maximum of six pilot projects to test the applicability of TIF to Scottish circumstances, in which extra tax revenues would come from non-domestic rates only.

Any proposal for a TIF project must demonstrate that:

the enabling infrastructure will unlock regeneration and sustainable economic growth
it will generate additional (or incremental) public sector revenues (net of a displacement effect)
it is capable of repaying, over an agreed timescale, the financing requirements of the enabling infrastructure from the incremental revenues

We have introduced secondary legislation, The Non-Domestic Rating Contributions (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2010, under existing provisions in the Local Government Finance Act 1992 to enable TIF pilots projects to take place. In 2023 Tax Incremental Financing Legislation was changed to increase its flexibility in response to changing economic and policy conditions. An executive note outlining changes to the TIF Administration Pilot Scheme was published on 5 October 2023. Secondary legislation was laid before Parliament on 19 October 2023 to enable the implementation of proposed changes.

We have tasked the Scottish Futures Trust with developing appropriate criteria for potentially applying TIF in Scotland, and with working with local authorities in developing their proposals.

We are encouraging local authorities to propose their own TIF schemes, with the requirement that these are supported by a business case detailing the justification for using TIF. A project will only be able to progress to pilot status if its supporting business case sufficiently demonstrates that it will deliver value for money.

Further guidance is provided in our tax incremental financing factsheet.

Contact

Email: infrastructureinvestmentstrategy@gov.scot

Infrastructure Division
Directorate for Public Spending
Scottish Government
Area 3D North
Victoria Quay
Edinburgh
EH6 6QQ

Information