Plans have been submitted for the proposed £700 million commercial and residential development on 90 acres of land near Edinburgh airport.

The first phase of the International Business Gateway will create around 2.25 million sq ft of built space, of which 1.3m sq ft will be commercial.

It is led by a consortium comprising Edinburgh-based companies Murray Estates and New Ingliston, together with a joint venture set up by Frogmore and Salmon Harvester.

The consortium said the development will attract onshore and international investment over a 30-year period. It will regenerate land around Edinburgh Airport which is being made more attractive by the arrival of the tram.

Jestyn Davies, director of Murray Estates, said: “”Everyone is aware of the diminishing levels of grade A space in the city centre, which in turn is leading to higher rents on Edinburgh Park. International Business Gateway should help to ‘balance’ rental levels for quality office accommodation in Edinburgh, which is essential to attracting both investors and tenants.”

The masterplan safeguards a westward extension of the tramway to Newbridge while it less than a mile to the rail/tram interchange station now under construction.

Martin Dalziel, director at New Ingliston, said: “It is extremely unusual, with a proposal of this type and of this scale, for high-end transport infrastructure to be already in place and fully operational before the first turf is cut. The seamless link the trams provide to Edinburgh Park the central business district and both main railway stations will in itself help generate investor and occupier interest.”

Frank Ross, convenor of the economy committee at the City of Edinburgh Council, described it as an “exciting opportunity to deliver a flagship development that will help accommodate the city’s continued economic growth.”

It is hoped that work will begin in the middle of 2017.