Work on a £1.69million contract to resurface the taxiway at Stornoway Airport will commence next month.
Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd (Hial) announced that the job has been awarded to Breedon North after two tenders were received.
The refurbishment of the taxiway, which will secure its use for the next two decades, involves resurfacing, drainage works and the upgrade of taxiway lighting to LED.
The total value of the contract, which is set to last for six weeks, is £1,695, 265, with the work prolonging the life of the taxiway, which leads to the runway, for another 15-20 years.
Hial, the public corporation owned by Scottish Ministers, promised there would be no disruption to air traffic as a result of the work.
A Hial spokesman said: “The taxiway resurfacing work is planned to start in August, with the project to last approximately six weeks.
“No air traffic will be affected as the work is planned for non-operational hours and the upgrade is due to operational requirements to accommodate scheduled passenger and cargo services, general aviation and military and air ambulance movements at Stornoway.”
Hial operates and manages 11 airports at Barra, Benbecula, Campbeltown, Dundee, Islay, Inverness, Kirkwall, Stornoway, Sumburgh, Tiree and Wick.
Stornoway Airport runs flights to Benbecula, Inverness, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh.
The airport sits about two miles outside the Lewis town and provides daily connections to the mainland and other parts of the Western Isles. It is a vital route for supplies and mail to reach the islands.
The need for work on the two main taxiways was revealed after an inspection in 2015. At that time, it was recommended to overlay the taxiways with a new layer of asphalt to increase their resilience.
Other elements will involve removing and replacing ground lighting on the airfield.
A major element will include installing a new surface channel drain to connect the taxiways and the disused runway on the airfield. The surrounding landscaping will also be raised to meet the level of the new taxiways to protect the aircraft.
Breedon will also be responsible for remarking the newly relaid surface once work has been completed.
