The final contracts, worth nearly �10m, have been awarded for work on the UK's first funicular railway, being built in the Cairngorms.

Morrison Construction Ltd will demolish the existing chairlift and assemble the new of the new funicular stations.

The contracts were awarded by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) after a competitive tendering exercise which included European-wide advertising.

Morrison, which won the civil engineering contract for the first phase of development in 1998, will begin off-site fabrication of the supports for the railway this winter.

The two contracts have a combined value of �9.3m. The total project cost is �14.8m including �2.6m from the European Objective One programme.

Operates in high winds

Construction of the rail system is due to begin in spring 2000 and the facility will open to the public for the 2001 ski season.

The funicular railway will be almost two kilometres long, climbing 453 metres. Two carriages will each carry 120 passengers in winter and 48 during the summer.

It will be able to operate at wind speeds of up to 100 mph, well above the 30-40mph which forces the current chairlift to close.

HIE chief executive Iain Robertson said: "The funicular railway will be a great economic boost to the Badenoch and Strathspey region.

"Not only will it re-establish Aviemore as a top ski-ing destination but it will be a visitor attraction in its own right - a national asset."

The Cairngorm Chairlift Company Limited, a non-profit distributing organisation, will operate the railway.

The system will underpin an estimated 2,500 tourism-related jobs in Aviemore and Strathspey's year-round tourism industry.

In addition to skiers it is estimated the funicular will attract some 165,000 summer visitors annually.