Work under way on new £11.2m freight terminal

Construction of the new terminal has started at West Fraser's site, known locally as the 'cloud factory'

Work has started on a new £11.2m freight terminal near Inverness to help move more Highland goods to the UK market by rail.

Global timber firm West Fraser Ltd has been granted Scottish government funding of up to £3m towards construction of the facility.

The terminal will be located at the firm's Dalcross plant - known locally as the 'cloud factory'.

Construction has now commenced, with the facility expected to begin operations in summer next year.

Transport Minister Fiona Hyslop said that over a 10-year period the project was expected to result in the removal of more than 8.5m lorry miles from Scotland's roads and more than 17m from UK roads.

She said: "This particular project could equate to removing the equivalent of up to 100 HGVs permanently from our roads per week, with the potential for even more should other companies use the facility."

European purchasing director for West Fraser Ltd, George Webb, added: "This facility will help accelerate the switch from road transport to rail, improving efficiency, removing some 20,000 HGV journeys off the A96 and A9 and eliminating approximately 9,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions per year, in the first phase."