LONDON — Boris Johnson has instructed officials to assess the feasibility of building a bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland.
A “range of government officials” are involved in a scoping exercise and will report back to Downing Street, the prime ministers spokesman said Monday.
The two nations are 20-miles apart at the narrowest gap between Portpatrick in western Scotland and Larne in Northern Ireland. Critics have argued building a bridge would be a waste of public money even if it deemed technically feasible.
“The prime minister believes the idea could have some merit so as a result of that you would expect the government to be looking into it,” the spokesman said, adding that: “Work is under way by a range of government officials.”
The spokesman did not clarify which government departments were involved in the study, how many officials were working on it or what was the deadline for the exercise.
If the idea is found to be viable, a full feasibility study would follow, he said, adding that “officials are taking this seriously.”
“The prime minister is ambitious in terms of infrastructure projects. Hes looking at a wide range of schemes across the United Kingdom which could boost connectivity,” the spokesperson said.
The Scottish government previously said the project would face “an obvious number of practical obstacles and challenges” and the decision should be backed by “a robust assessment of the costs Read More – Source
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