Work on the new £333million Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre is planned to begin next month, it has been revealed.
A new report to the council’s finance committee next week says construction should start on the 12,500-capacity venue in July and be completed by Spring 2019- just in time for the biennial Offshore Europe exhibition.
The authority subsidises the current Bridge of Don site to the tune of £1.3million a year.
But the council estimates it will end up paying as little as £100,000 annually for the Bucksburn development.
In a similar deal to Marischal Square, the council will lease the site and will have the chance to buy it back for £1 after 35 years.
A green energy centre, 200 bedroom hotel, car parking charges and tenancy rates has lead council officers to predict the £100,000 figure.
It will be part of a wider complex on the site of the Rowett Research Institute and officers have predicted an extra 31,000 business tourists will visit the area when it is completed.
The report to next Tuesday’s meeting says legal agreements have all been reached and ground can be broken on the site this summer.
Last night finance director Willie Young said operators from across the UK had been in discussions with the city council for running the new facility.
He said: “This development is massive for the city and it shows just what kind of city we are when we’re prepared to spend £333million on bringing a world-class entertainment and conference venue to Aberdeen.
“We will have the last Offshore Europe at the old AECC before it comes back in 2019 to somewhere even bigger and better.
“It’s great that we can get cracking.”
But opposition SNP finance spokesman Graham Dickson said “failure is not an option” when it comes to completing the works within the timescale set.
He said: “The AECC is hugely important for the economy of the city and the wider north-east region and hopefully it will open up more chances to see fantastic entertainment and conference facilities.
“It’s a substantial project to undertake and it’s important the council ensure that the council stick to this timeline and not risk missing out on the vital Offshore Europe exhibition in 2019.”
