Clyde Gateway, the company responsible for Scotland’s biggest regeneration project in Glasgow’s East End, has outlined plans for £250 million worth of construction and development this year.
The work includes the first phase of the athletes village for the 2014 Commonwealth Games as well as an office development, a business park and the rebuilding of a railway station.
Clyde Gateway chairman Neil McDonald said the “incredible” amount of activity, despite the problems in the wider economy, was a “sure-fire sign that many success stories are on their way”.
He said: “The regeneration of the East End has only just begun and all of our partners are committed to the long-term nature of the project over a 20-year period.
“The message is that there has never been a better time for investors, developers and entrepreneurs to come and be part the exciting story that is happening here and now.”
He said 2013 would be a pivotal year for the initiative, with the Commonwealth Games just over 18 months away.
Over the first four years of its existence Clyde Gateway has spent £80m, while local authorities in Glasgow and South Lanarkshire have also been investing heavily in the area.
Their combined efforts have led to new offices, trade and business parks which have seen more than 700 jobs located to the area.
This spring sees work begin on a 130,000 square foot office development at South Dalmarnock on the banks of the River Clyde, at a cost of £24m.
Also this year, Clyde Gateway East, a £35m business park next to the M74, is being built in partnership with commercial property companies MEPC and SCOT Sheridan.
For smaller businesses, a £3.5m construction project will create office suites for up to 30 firms.
In addition, the area will have easy access to Glasgow and the wider rail network from mid-2013 thanks to the £11m re-build of Dalmarnock Station.
The first phase of the athletes village for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, on a 38-hectare site in the heart of Clyde Gateway, which will see £150m of investment this year.
Opposite the village, Forestry Commission Scotland is creating a new woodland park on the banks of the Clyde in South Lanarkshire.
Meanwhile, more than £20m will be spent preparing sites for more commercial developments in the area.