19 January 2009
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is calling for the privatisation of Scottish Water, insisting the profits from the sale could be used to fund the new Forth Bridge.
Iain McMillan, the group's Scottish director, said selling off the utility company could free up more than £180 million in public spending, which could be used to help build the replacement crossing.
It would also allow for greater investment in Scotland's water infrastructure by allowing the firm to access capital markets, bringing benefits for customers, he added.
However, Scottish Finance Secretary John Swinney has insisted that the bridge will be built "through traditional public procurement".
And he pointed out that Treasury rules "explicitly" state that the UK government has the right to hold onto any money raised through the privatisation of Scottish Water.
Scottish Water has around five million customers and supplies 2.3 billion litres of water a day. It is the UK's fourth largest water and waste water services provider.