THE organisation representing large businesses in Wales wants reassurance the Welsh Government will not lose momentum on an M4 relief road when the minister in charge steps down.

Economy and transport minster Edwina Hart, who has pushed the plans for a new stretch of motorway to the south of Newport forward, announced on Friday that she will not seek re-election to the National Assembly next year.

Ms Hart and approved the £1bn project in July 2014, following decades of discussion from various administrations about relief for the Brynglas Tunnels bottleneck.

The proposed road will run between Magor and Castleton, including a bridge over the Usk which could bisect Newport Docks.

Chris Sutton, chairman of the Confederation of Business Interests (CBI) Wales, said: “The delivery of the M4 Relief Road remains our number one priority for the Welsh economy.

“As we look to build our long term infrastructure plan for Wales we must ensure there is no loss of momentum or change in direction in delivery of this key project.

“We recognise that Ministers, and indeed, Governments change however the challenge is to quietly ‘crack on’ in dealing with the long-term issues which form the foundation of future growth. We will seek reassurances from the Welsh Government in this regard.”

Reacting to the CBI’s call for assurances on the M4 relief road, Matthew Kennerley, director of Associated British Ports south Wales, said: “To date, we have been engaging in constructive dialogue with Welsh Government officials to try and reach a solution that will minimise the impact on the port and its operations. We would like this to continue when a new minister takes over and for that minister to revisit proposals and give due consideration to alternative routes, which would have a less severe impact on port operations.

“We recognise the need for action to tackle the current congestion problems that surround the M4 at Newport, but remain very concerned about the impact that the favoured ‘black route’ could have on the Port of Newport, in terms of existing capacity and future development opportunities.”

Iestyn Davies, from the Federation for Small Business Wales, said: “We still believe that the Welsh Government’s decision to press ahead with the black route M4 scheme was a billion pound mistake.

“There remains a huge question mark about how any future Welsh Government would pay for a road that would conservatively cost £1bn when it will only be able to borrow £500m under the powers granted by the UK Government.

“Given the considerable capital investment of the proposed black route it hard to see how such a project could legitimately go ahead without cross-party support in the Senedd.

“There is now a real need to properly evaluate alternative proposals which could help to deal with the congestion issues around Newport while leaving funding for other schemes, not least the South Wales Metro, which would arguably bring more benefits to communities within Wales.”