FORMER chief engineer of ­Morrisons Construction, Michael Martin, is set to be named as project director of Forth Crossing Bridge Const­ructors, the consortium building the £1.4 billion Queensferry Crossing.

Martin, a Scot and a member of the board of the FCBC consortium, will take over from Carlo Germani, who announced last month he was leaving the position after three-and-a-half years to take up a new job in Qatar. Transport Scotland, which is managing the project on behalf of the Scottish Government, declined to comment prior to a formal a­nnouncement, which is expected soon.

Morrisons Construction was acquired in 2006 by London-based Galliford Try, the junior partner in the four-company consortium that comprises FCBC with Hochtief, Dragados (both are parts of Spanish giant ACS), and American Bridge of Pittsburgh in the US.

After some early setbacks with the setting of the foundations, Transport Scotland has reported excellent progress on the bridge in recent months.

Transport Scotland recently praised Germani for his "hugely significant contribution" to the successful delivery of the new bridge project, saying "we pay tribute to that contribution as he prepares to move on to new challenges in Qatar. He leaves the project in a very healthy state as we move towards its final two years".