CHANCELLOR George Osborne will today pledge to start £2.4billion of transport improvements in the South within 100 days of a Conservative election victory.

He announced the proposals last month but will deliver a speech today saying what his party will do within 100 days of taking power if they are returned to Government on May 7.

Mr Osborne will say his party will spend £2.4billion in transport on the South Coast, including completing the transformation of the M3 and M27 into smart motorways.

The work would also include improving the A31 in Hampshire, freezing rail fares for five years and beginning work on the Chickenhall Link Road, Botley bypass and creating an all-ways junction at junction six of the M27.

Other pledges include starting a drive to create 200,000 new apprenticeships on the South Coast by the end of the next Parliament, opening discussions with councils in Hampshire to start a range of City Deals and providing more funding for coastal communities in the county.

In a speech in east Sussex today he will say: "Our Timetable for a Stronger South Coast sets out exactly what steps we'll take within the first hundred days of taking office to bring new jobs and investment to the South Coast.

"We're the only party with a clear plan for the South Coast, and the only party able to hit the ground running after the election to create a brighter future for the South Coast.

“There couldn't be a clearer choice: people can either vote for the political instability and economic chaos of a weak Ed Miliband controlled by the Scottish Nationalists, which will mean jobs lost, incomes cut and projects cancelled on the South Coast; or people can choose David Cameron and the Conservatives, who will get straight back to work implementing this timetable for ‎a stronger South Coast.”

When the proposals were first unveiled by the Chancellor last month, Labour, the Liberal Democrats, UKIP and the Greens were all skeptical about where funding for the works towould come from, with Labour urging the Chancellor to “come clean” about funding.

When quizzed by the Daily Echo at the time, Mr Osborne insisted the plans were “fully costed”.