A preferred bidder has been chosen to build the new bridge over the River Forth.

The Forth Crossing Bridge Constructors (FCBC) consortium, consisting of Dragados, Hochtief, American Bridge International and Morrison Construction, was chosen ahead of Forthspan, the other consortium bidding for the contract, following an 18 month competitive tendering process. Both bids were found to be valid and of a high standard following a rigorous assessment of technical, quality and cost aspects.

The new bridge will be the biggest Scottish transport infrastructure projects in a generation. The winning bidder will be responsible for both the bridge and the connecting roads.

The winning bid was for a cost of £790m, significantly lower that the initisl estimated cost of somewhere between £0.9bn and £1.2bn. With inflation and VAT taken into consideration, the total cost will be between £1.47bn - £1.62bn, lower than the project's original estimated cost range of £1.7bn - £2.3bn.

Finance Secretary John Swinney said: "The Forth Replacement Crossing project will be essential in protecting and promoting Scotland’s sustainable economic growth, safeguarding a vital link in the country’s transport infrastructure, protecting thousands of jobs and securing over a billion pounds in economic revenue.

"I was therefore delighted to inform Parliament this morning that the tender period for the FRC Principal Contract has now concluded.

"The successful FCBC consortium includes world class bridge building and civil engineering firms with strong records of successfully delivering similar projects throughout the world.

"It is a testament to the robust competition we put in place that it has delivered a bid representing a significant saving for Scotland’s capital budget. This is yet more compelling evidence that the Scottish Government is managing major infrastructure projects successfully in a way which maximises benefits and minimises cost to the public purse.

"Value for money was clearly an essential factor in making this decision but the winning proposal also includes hugely valuable commitments on sustainability, training and employment opportunities and community engagement.

Mr Swinney added that today’s announcement of the FRC preferred bidder represented "remarkable progress" since he first signalled a green light for the project to Parliament in December 2007.

"The project is on time and ahead of budget and that is a considerable achievement considering both the Bill process and procurement of such a major contract had, necessarily given the issues facing the current Forth Road Bridge, to be run concurrently."

Transport Minister Keith Brown also announced that £10m is to be made available to Fife Council to deliver a 1,000 space park and ride facility at Halbeath by 2013.

Mr Brown said: "We are committed to cutting carbon emissions by encouraging modal shift from private cars to public transport. The FRC project includes using the existing bridge as a part of a dedicated public transport corridor but it is clearly vital we do all we can to encourage and promote that shift to sustainable cross-Forth travel now."

It is intended to award the contract to FCBC in April, subject to a mandatory standstill period, with construction starting on site soon after.

The project is currently on track to be completed in 2016 and will replace the current Forth Road Bridge as the main crossing for traffic across the river.