Coffer dam completed at Dundee's £80m V&A museum site

The coffer dam provides a dry space for work on the portion of the building which will stand out on the Tay

The construction of Dundee's £80m branch of the V&A museum has passed its first major milestone with the completion of a coffer dam.

Building work on the design museum began in March, and BAM Construction has now completed the coffer dam which will allow the structure to be built out into the Tay.

The building is due to be complete by December 2017, opening in 2018.

BAM said the project was "on target to deliver a world-class building".

The coffer dam is a watertight structure built around the part of the museum which will protrude out into the Tay, creating a dry area for land reclamation work to proceed.

Work on the dam had to be complete by the beginning of June, to avoid interfering with the harbour seal breeding season.

Having seen the project delayed for several years and its cost almost double from £45m, V&A Dundee director Philip Long said he was delighted to see work moving ahead.

When complete, the museum building will jut out into the Tay

Work on the £80m design museum's foundations is under way at the waterfront site

He said: "We are thrilled at the progress and pace of work in the first three months of construction. The project really comes to life when you see the form of the building marked out on site.

"It will be hugely exciting for all of us to watch its striking physical shape emerge over the coming months and years up to opening.

"V&A Dundee will be a world-class design museum for Scotland, a place that will inspire and delight hundreds of thousands of visitors from Dundee and far beyond."

Work on the building's foundations is now under way, and the first of three tower cranes is to be erected next month.

Doug Keillor, regional director for BAM Construction in Scotland, said: "BAM is on target with our construction programme to deliver a world-class building that will be a source of pride for the people of Dundee and Scotland.

"We have formed an excellent working partnership with V&A Dundee and Dundee City Council which is always the foundation of a successful project."