Matheson tore into the Aberdeen Roads Limited joint venture firms in a strongly-worded statement on the £745m project.

‎He said “Last month, Aberdeen Roads Limited (ARL) told Parliament that the current delays arose as a result of defective workmanship to the Don Crossing.

“In the space of just two weeks following that statement, ARL’s target opening date for the remaining section of the AWPR slipped from before Christmas to January.

“We are now at the end of January and ARL are still not in a position to open this final section.

“The people of the north east will want to know why ARL have failed to deliver their own programme once again and I am committed to keeping them fully updated.

“I am pleased to report all remaining physical works at the Don Crossing have finished.

“But the road can only be fully opened once Ministers receive the necessary assurances about the longer term impact of the remedial work and the changed costs of future maintenance.

“To put it more simply, we are not prepared to pick up the tab for mistakes made by construction companies.

“No responsible Government could ever saddle the public purse with uncertain costs for an uncertain period of time.

“Following a series of often robust meetings I held with ARL at the end of last year, I was delighted for the people of the north east when over 85% of the road finally opened on 12 December. Their feedback has been overwhelmingly positively since then.

“I am seeking yet another urgent meeting with the senior ARL team to leave them in no doubt as to how resolute our defence of the public purse will be.

“The ball is in ARL’s court and I look forward to making this clear in person.”