Over 160 business representatives from firms throughout Scotland attended the event - which was hosted by Scottish Enterprise - to find out more about the work packages available.
Thurston said: “The HS2 project is a once in a lifetime opportunity for firms from Scotland to get involved and help deliver Britain’s new high speed railway. The scale and longevity of the project means that there will be thousands of opportunities for businesses available.
“We’re looking for everything from engineering to catering services, designers to ecologists, and concrete to electronic components. It is not just about track and trains. I encourage any business interested in working on HS2 to look out for the opportunities on offer.”
Scottish Enterprise portfolio director for high value manufacturing Julia Brown said: “Along with our partner government agencies, we are keen to support and encourage companies to access the £600 billion UK pipeline for infrastructure spend over the next 10 years. HS2 is by far the largest of these projects, with UK Government committed spend of £55.7 billion. Clearly there is a keen interest in Scotland with over 160 delegates from over 100 companies coming to Glasgow today to meet with HS2 and we encourage all companies interested to engage with us, access support and be competition ready.”
The event heard that it is expected that every 10 direct tier one major works contracts will result in over 10,000 indirect supply chain opportunities. There are 2,000 companies already supporting the project, with over 70% of these SMEs, said HS2.
At peak construction, 30,000 jobs will be supported by the project and 2,000 apprentices will be on offer.
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