Aberdeen city council has begun a search for a forward funder for its £333m Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre.
The council will take a 35-year lease on the scheme. Any deal would be one of the largest ever in Scotland.
The project is being undertaken by Sheffield-based Henry Boot Developments, which was chosen as the council’s development partner in 2013.
The project is due to go to planning committee next month. Subject to planning, work is expected to start in mid-2016 and complete in late 2018, in time for that year’s oil and gas conference, Offshore Europe.
The 750,000 sq ft complex will include a 10,000-seat arena, three hotels and an anaerobic digestion green energy centre.
The project, at Rowett North, is near Aberdeen International Airport. Its development by the council is in anticipation of an extra 31,000 business tourists visiting the north east of Scotland by 2025 and an additional £11m of visitor spend per year.
A later phase of the redevelopment project includes a 400,000 sq ft business park and 518 new homes.
The Aberdeen market was counter-cyclical during the downturn because of its buoyant oil and gas industry. However, this year it has suffered a relative slump due to the collapse in the oil market, with the price of a barrel falling below $40 (£26).
