Infrastructure Investment Plan 2021-22 to 2025-26: major capital projects progress update - December 2023

Sector: Rural and Environment

Project: RBGE - Edinburgh Biomes

Business case approved stages: Project will transform the current failing RBGE (Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh) estate – home to Scotland’s national biodiversity research collections - to a create a world-class facility that will produce climate, economic, wellbeing and environmental benefits, as part of a green economic recovery for Scotland. The FBC outlined that the total cost of the project will be £89.9 million and the full programme will be completed by October 2027 with the public entrance Glasshouse the final planned phase of work. The Scottish Government funding amounts to £58 million 2021-2026 (Framework agreement is procurement route for project).

Progress at March 2023: No change to full programme since the last report.

The refurbishment of the Victorian Palm House continues as does the decant of the internationally important plant collection in the front range glasshouses. The RBGE is assessing a tender report received in March 2023 for the Infrastructure works and expects a tender for the Decant Glasshouse soon. The procurement process has been protracted and heavily impacted by on-going market conditions with inflation being noted as the main reason for the tender delay. The March 2023 Infrastructure only tender is the result of Balfour Beatty’s work to provide a proposal to allow the infrastructure part of the works to commence as a first phase starting as soon as possible. The Energy Centre would follow as a second phase. The impact of construction material inflation and labour costs continue to be assessed across the remainder of programme with potential impact on the phasing of works.

Progress at December 2023: No change to full programme since the last report.

Restoration of the A-listed Victorian Palm Hoses continues to progress positively with a projected completion date at the end of 2024. The infrastructure phase of the programme commenced in October 2023 and the key elements of this part of the programme, includes the design and construction of a new substation, an underground heating pipe network and associated services.

Decant of the internationally important plant collection is largely completed, with over 40,000 plants temporarily housed across RBGE’s visitor and research glasshouses, which are also to be refurbished at a later stage of Edinburgh Biomes programme.

The impact of construction material inflation and labour costs during the initial phases of the programme continue to be assessed across the remainder of the programme which may result in a potential impact on later phasing of the works.

Contact for public enquiries: email: andrew.mackie@gov.scot