The University of Glasgow is to build a new high-tech campus in Govan, bringing hundreds of jobs to the area.

Based on the banks of the Clyde, once synonymous with shipbuilding, it is hoped that the area could soon become a world-renowned centre for nanotechnology and precision medicine.

The university has put up £28m for the project, with a further £27.5m to come from the Glasgow City region deal for The Clyde Waterfront Innovation Campus.

Bidding will be undertaken for a further £63m in funding with the view to begin work on the campus within two years.

Read more: The Park Bar on Paisley Road West to undergo major refurbishment

Plans for the new campus are already well underway with significant commitments to co-location and job-creation from leading industry partners.

The site for the new campus is currently a disused car park at the southern end of the Clyde tunnel, near the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

As well as providing inclusive economic growth for the city and Scotland, the new campus will provide a major boost to the local area, bringing in high-quality jobs and contributing to regeneration, while also acting as a conduit to the University for the community in Govan.

There are plans to establish “Invention Rooms” for use by local school pupils and young people – shared, interactive spaces to allow for collaboration between the University, the local community and industrial partners, designed to inspire a cultural of innovation and entrepreneurship amongst local residents.

The campus will feature an enhanced James Watt Nanofabrication Centre focusing on industries like nanofabrication for quantum technology and photonics.

Even at an early stage, the plans are already supported by 12 major industry partners,and will see the re-location of Europe’s leading clean room facility from the West End to Govan.

The new Living Laboratory will flow into the existing Clinical Innovation Zone at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, and will be a key aspect of meeting Glasgow’s aspiration to be the ‘Silicon Valley of Precision Medicine’, an opportunity identified by President of the US National Academy of Sciences, Dr Victor Dzau.

The Principal, Professor Sir Anton Muscatelli, said: “The University of Glasgow’s plans for investment in Govan are an incredibly exciting new chapter for the University and the City – and can be as transformational for Govan and the Clyde Waterfront as our move to the West End from the City Centre was in 1870.

“As Glasgow’s largest university, we are determined to play a full and active part in the public life of our City and our new campus on the south bank of the Clyde will see even more of Glasgow’s communities benefit from our activity, while creating a genuine cluster of excellence in several of the leading industries of the coming decades.

“We know that the University only thrives when the City thrives – and that the City only meets its full potential when the University works closely with partners in industry and the public sector, translating our world-leading research into jobs and inclusive economic growth, and ensuring the benefits are felt by people across Glasgow.”

He added: “Shipbuilding and heavy industry in Govan and on the Clyde Waterfront were the pillars of Glasgow’s industrial excellence in the 19th and 20th centuries. I have no doubt that the innovation agenda and industries like quantum technology, nanofabrication and Precision Medicine can be to the 21st century Glasgow economy, what shipbuilding was in the past.

Read more: The Glasgow Schools that send most pupils to college, university and work

“As a City, we can’t afford to look backwards to past glories – we have to reimagine Glasgow’s entrepreneurial legacy for the 21st Century. And the establishment of the Clyde Waterfront Innovation Campus could create Scotland’s Silicon Valley on the Clyde, and be a key step in ensuring our City retakes its place at the forefront of international innovation and industrial excellence.”

It is hoped the addition will be part of a wider regeneration of Govan.

Councillor Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council and Chair of the Glasgow City Region City Deal Cabinet, said: “This news is a welcome addition to all the investment that is taking place as the council and our partners work together to deliver the Glasgow Riverside Innovation District, stretching from the University of Glasgow to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital.

“The work being done to regenerate Govan, Water Row, the banks of the Clyde in this part of Glasgow and the forthcoming Partick-Govan Bridge is key to attracting and developing world-class innovation in this part of the city.”

The new campus move comes as Glasgow University has outgrown its clean room facilities on Gilmorehill in the west end, where researchers are leading the way in nanotechnology.

Read more of today's top Glasgow stories 

Dr Sara Diegoli, Strategic Project Manager at the College of Science and Engineering and the lead for the quantum aspect of the CWIC project said: “Moving existing University activities to the new innovation campus in Govan to allow more effective co-location with industry, is a major statement of intent that we want to ensure Glasgow is the best place to do business in this field – and the level of engagement even at this early stage from partners in industry, gives me great confidence that CWIC will ensure Glasgow’s place as a world-leader in enabling technologies for decades to come.

“The new campus will be the ideal platform for skills development, outreach, collaborative research and development, entrepreneurship and innovation – all while providing a real boost to the local community.”

Vice-Principal and Head of the College of Medical, Veterinary and Life Sciences, Professor Dame Anna Dominiczak, Scotland’s leading expert in Precision Medicine said: "This is a project of true local, national and international importance – contributing to the regeneration of Govan, cementing Scotland’s place as the world-leader in Precision Medicine and promising a genuine revolution in healthcare right across the world.

"And I am delighted to see Precision Medicine placed front and centre of the University’s priorities by being based at our new Clyde Waterfront Innovation Campus.”