Edinburgh BioQuarter said on Monday it has issued a prior information notice (PIN) in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) to launch a procurement process to deliver a Health Innovation District for Edinburgh.

“The vision is a £1 billion transformation to create Edinburgh’s Health Innovation District, a new and vibrant mixed-use neighbourhood, ultimately supporting a community of more than 20,000 people,” said Edinburgh BioQuarter.

“It will include commercial labs and offices as well as residential housing, cafes, bars, restaurants, hotel, retail and leisure.

“A fly-through video of the proposed development has been released to coincide with the launch of the PIN.”

So far, over £500 million of capital has been invested at BioQuarter, with a further £330 million of capital investment planned for the next five years for buildings, infrastructure, and specialist equipment.

A virtual bidders’ day for interested parties to learn more is planned for September 1, 2020.

BioQuarter is a partnership between the University of Edinburgh, NHS Lothian, the City of Edinburgh Council and Scottish Enterprise.

The 167-acre site lies three miles south of Edinburgh city centre and 8,000 people currently work and study within its boundary.

It currently comprises numerous life sciences businesses, the Edinburgh Medical School, many of the University of Edinburgh’s research institutes and the 900-bed Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

The PIN is notification of the BioQuarter partners’ search for a partner to invest in and accelerate plans for the 61 acres of developable land. 

Edinburgh BioQuarter interim programme director Anna Stamp said: “BioQuarter is one of very few locations in Europe which offers the combination of globally ranked academic and clinical research at scale with the space to accommodate a large cluster of commercial companies and associated services, as well as residential housing to create a vibrant community.

“We are currently consulting with the community on revising our masterplan and placemaking strategy as we develop our requirements for a new partner to be part of this opportunity.

“Due to the current Covid-19 restrictions, our intention is to gather information through an online questionnaire and to host a virtual bidders’ day in September.”

During the PIN process, interested parties may submit questions via the secure Q&A facility on Public Contracts Scotland .