A bypass is to be built around Aberdeen to ease congestion, First Minister Jack McConnell has announced.

He made the commitment at a business breakfast with Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce on Monday.

Mr McConnell told his audience of business leaders that the Scottish Executive would work in partnership with the North East Scotland Transport Partnership (Nestrans) to support plans for a dual carriageway to the city's west to ease congestion.

The proposals for the Western Peripheral Route were advanced following meetings at the weekend.

It's important to see the road in place as quickly as possible Jack McConnell

Mr McConnell said the executive hoped it would take less than the previously proposed nine years to complete the route.

He said: "Aberdeen's transport problems have been well documented.

"I am sure this new road will be a tremendous benefit to the city, help it to remove through traffic from the centre, and take heavy traffic off rural and urban routes.

"Nine years has been talked about. That is a very long time and this is a consistent problem in large scale roads projects - I think it must be possible to reduce that time and I have given a remit to the ministers to start discussions on that tomorrow."

The first minister said the funding model would be along the lines of that in place for the M74 in the central belt.

He said: "There's clearly been a lot of debate over the years about whether government makes up the majority of that cost.

'Delays and disappointments'

"What I'm saying today is that the arrangement that we put in place for the M74 south of Glasgow is the arrangement that should be put in place here - government should fund the main route and the local partner should fund the offshoot into the local transport network."

The first minister acknowledged that the project had been hit by "delays" and "disappointments" over the years.

However, he told business leaders: "I believe the road should be in place in this decade rather than in the next decade.

"There will be planning considerations and all kinds of structural issues to be dealt with before then, but it's important to see the road in place as quickly as possible.

Labour's bias towards road building will inevitably lead to more pollution and congestion Dr Dan Barlow

"It's vital for Aberdeen city and for the whole of the north east, it's vital for Scotland and I'm sure now that it will happen."

But the plan was condemned by Friends of the Earth Scotland, who said Labour had replaced the Tories as the road builders friend and accused the party of electioneering.

Dr Dan Barlow, the environment group's head of research, said: "Labour's addiction to destructive road building projects has now plumbed new depths.

"In what amounts to blatant electioneering Labour has once again raised the 'white flag' to the roads lobby.

'Lack of detail'

"Including the �120m this unnecessary scheme will cost, Labour has now committed nearly �1bn on pollution-generating roads.

"In road building terms this decision places Labour on a par with the Tories and confirms them as the new friend of road builders."

He added: "Labour's bias towards road building will inevitably lead to more pollution and congestion."

SNP transport spokesman Kenny MacAskill said proposals for the road link were ill-defined and suggested the plans were a bid for pre-election publicity.

He said: "When is it going to start? When is it going to finish? What method of funding is being used?

"The lack of detail points to yet another election promise that Labour has failed to deliver."