UP to 150 new civil service-related jobs are set to be created in Dundee through the expansion of several department offices already operating in the city, writes Ian Findlay, industrial reporter.

Some of the departments are to relocate, and their moves and the accommodation for the new jobs are to be catered for by two new, multi-million pound office buildings, which will begin construction soon at Greenmarket and Discovery Quay, on Riverside Drive. The buildings ? which will together total more than 40,000 square feet ? are scheduled to be completed by next February. The developments are being funded entirely by the private sector.

Details of the civil service departmental relocations and expansions emerged today in a statement issued by Scottish Enterprise.

Discovery Quay Developments (DQD) Ltd ? a joint venture comprising Scottish Enterprise, HBG Properties Ltd and Highbridge Properties Ltd ? is carrying out the new offices project.

DQD will lease the buildings to the Scottish Executive.

Some of the departments involved ? such as the Scottish Social Services Council and the Care Commission ? are already based in the relatively new Compass House Discovery Quay.

Another, the Office of the Scottish Charities Regulator, is relocating to Dundee, and will take up space in one of the new offices to be built on a vacant site between Compass House and the Travel Inn hotel.

Other departments ? such as the area offices of Communities Scotland and Her Majesty?s Inspectorate of Education ? are located elsewhere in Dundee, but will move to the central waterfront.

DQD is already involved in the construction of a new HQ building for Scottish Enterprise Tayside on a former car park site to the north of Dundee Station, just a short distance from the Greenmarket site where one of the new buildings will appear.

The new developments, and other infrastructure work already under way in the area, will contribute to what is on course to be a dramatic transformation of the area over the next few years.

Scottish Social Services Council chief executive Carole Wilkinson said today that since locating in Dundee four years ago the department had grown to meet the important task of registering and regulating the social service workforce in Scotland.

?We are delighted our growth can be accommodated by a new building next door where we can continue to enjoy the benefits of our wonderful location on the banks of the Tay,? she added. ?The SSSC is proud to be part of the exciting new waterfront development in Dundee.?

SE Tayside chief executive Shona Cormack commented, ?This is a tremendous boost for Tayside, both in terms of creating new jobs for the local workforce and in further rejuvenating Dundee?s waterfront.

The Discovery Quay Development partnership has helped to bring these two major brownfield sites back into use and complete the long-established joint venture aim of redeveloping this part of Dundee Waterfront.

The capture of these jobs, of which around 150 will be new to the city, will further enhance Dundee?s economic growth and its reputation as a great place to live, work and invest.

As details of the civil service jobs boost for Dundee emerged today, it was also confirmed that two major private sector development projects, together worth over £15 million, are set to get under way in Dundee city centre in the next few weeks.

The two projects ? one a new-build development on a site that has been vacant for years and the other the conversion of a former jute works ? are just yards apart close to West Marketgait.

Locally-based property developer Bruce Linton confirmed today the projects are on course for a start next month. A contractor has been named for one and one will be chosen for the other very soon.

Companies within Mr Linton?s James Keiller Estates group are behind both the projects.

The new-build development is on the long-vacant site of the former St Roques Garage on the corner of Ward Road and North Lindsay Street, where student accommodation is to be constructed.

A total of 140 bed spaces are to provided at the site, which has been in use as a car park for a number of years, in a development worth £6 million.

The second project involving Mr Linton?s group is centred on the old Tay Works building at the corner of West Marketgait and Guthrie Street.

The building is to be transformed into a hotel, offices and restaurants and the first phase will begin early next month.

Builders Stewart Milne will convert the south half of the top two floors of the old building into a 48-bedroom hotel for the budget chain Travelodge. Services for two restaurants planned for the ground floor of the former jute works will also be installed.

The building has been largely vacant for some time, with only the top floor in regular use as a students? union for Abertay University.

The Tay Works project is valued at over £9 million.