A consortium of Scottish institutions has put forward ambitious plans for the creation of a new business and transport hub at Edinburgh Airport.

Dubbed the International Business Gateway, the £300 million project identifies land lying between the airport and adjacent RBS headquarters as ripe for development.

Under the plans, the 85 hectares of land would be developed to include offices, hotel and conference facilities and an arena.

The Edinburgh International Development Partnership (EIDP) – which includes Scottish Enterprise, Edinburgh Airport, the Royal Highland Agricultural Society, Edinburgh City Council and the Scottish government – claims the plans will generate up to £4.4bn for the Scottish economy.

A total of 3,600 jobs would be created within 20 years, added EIDP.

Edinburgh Airport

Edinburgh Airport recently underwent a £40 million expansion, with the BAA owned property seeing a sharp increase in passenger numbers in recent years.

The scheme also takes in the Royal Highland Showground which has already announced a £30m upgrade which includes two new hotels.

Realising Edinburgh Airport’s growth potential is widely recognised as being key to maximising the competitiveness of Edinburgh and Scotland on the world stage.

Sustained investment between 2011 and 2020 will deliver improvements that will allow the airport to accommodate up to 13 million passengers.

Kevin Brown, managing sirector, Edinburgh Airport, said: “This is a significant step for the whole of Scotland, not just the capital.

“We work hard at growing and developing our airport and destinations and providing the gateway Scotland can be proud of.

“By fulfilling this role as part of a wider collaboration in Edinburgh International, we can be part of delivering some very real economic benefits for the country.”

More information on the proposals can be found here.

City.Mobi

Also in the UK today, City.Mobi is celebrating the success of its new guide to Edinburgh.

City.Mobi offers the most comprehensive mobile travel guides available, with over 800 cities in 200 countries listed. Each is developed by the City.Mobi team to combine into a single global travel directory.

However, each city retains its own mobile identity via a dedicated domain. Already on offer are Brussels.Mobi, Paris.Mobi, Sanfrancisco.Mobi and Sydney.Mobi.

Edinburgh.Mobi is the latest in this illustrious line up, offering click to call functionality – which means no scribbling down telephone numbers.

Most entries are also linked to websites where users can quickly access more detailed information if needed.

Other key features include information on accommodation, restaurants, attractions, entertainment, nightlife, shopping, and transport.

City.Mobi guides include user reviews and traveller utilities such as a translation guide, currency converter, news and local weather guide.