The £150m job was retendered in September when Transport Scotland had to revise risks in the contract documents to attract new bidders.

Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering, John Graham Construction and Wills Bros Civil Engineering were originally shortlisted to bid for the 9.6km dualling job.

But after two pulled out, just one bid was submitted at a price much higher than the original budget of £115m.

The three firms now in the race are:

• John Graham Construction Ltd
• Sacyr UK Ltd
• Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering Ltd

Minister for Transport, Fiona Hyslop  said: “Today’s announcement of the shortlisted contractors follows a significant change to the overall contract strategy for this project which uses a different contract form with a balanced share of risk between the contractor and Scottish Ministers.

“The dualling of the section between Tomatin to Moy will not only improve connectivity and safety for those using the route through the upgrading of the single carriageway, but will also include over 10km of improvements to active travel routes including new footpaths and greater connections to public transport.”

The current timetable anticipates an award of the construction contract for the third section of the A9 Dualling in early Summer 2024.