The project will replace the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion, Edinburgh, with a bespoke new eye hospital on the Little France BioQuarter campus.

Jim Crombie, deputy chief executive, NHS Lothian, said: ‘We are pleased to appoint Kier as our principal supply chain partner and take the next step in the process towards opening a new eye hospital in Lothian.

‘We are delighted that the hospital is becoming a reality and that makes this milestone even more exciting. I would like to thank our teams for their commitment and endurance throughout the planning of this project – I know this step will mean a great deal to them.

‘Our teams in the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion have a world-class reputation for their innovation, treatment, patient safety and care, but the building no longer supports them or the thousands of surgical, inpatients and outpatients who attend each year.

‘This new state-of-the-art facility will allow our magnificent teams to continue providing the exceptional patient care and treatment they are renowned for.'

The new hospital will stand as a hub of excellence and also provide specialist services, such as surgical retinal services, paediatric surgery and neuro-ophthalmology for patients from NHS Borders, Tayside and Fife, as well as Lothian.