Council bosses are planning to invest more than £80million of public money in the new Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC).
In December, councillors approved £333million plans for the 12,500-capacity concert venue in Bucksburn which will include two hotels, an energy centre and parking.
The Press and Journal understands the proposed £81.6million investment will go towards the energy centre and one of the hotels.
It will be included in the proposed capital programme for the year ahead, which will go before full council at the budget meeting later this month.
Last night, finance convener Willie Young said the scheme was another example of the city council’s innovation.
He said: “The AECC is very important to the council, not just because of the centre itself, but also because of the green energy plant.
“This is another innovative measure which is going to save the council a lot of money because we won’t have to pay landfill tax.
“Essentially, we will be saving so much money on landfill tax that the city is going to be getting this centre for free.
“It’s a fantastic model which shows us doing the best for the interests of our citizens.”
The developer behind the new AECC, Henry Boot, has previously claimed the development could generate more than 3,000 jobs and bring millions of pounds into the city.
The company also says the project would generate £109million for Aberdeen every year after its completion and that, from 2022 onwards, 603,000 people would visit the AECC on an annual basis.
North-east MSP Alex Johnstone says it is important the public gets “value for money”.
“It’s important the city council budget for these costs and I hope they are right about how they plan to fund it, but the reality of that will only be apparent once it’s up-and-running,” he added.
“The council tax payers will want to know they are getting value for money.”