TELECOMS giant BT has started construction on a new multi-million-pound contact centre in Dundee city centre.

The new office, which is being built on West Marketgait, will be home to around 1,000 staff, who are currently located at the company’s current premises on Ward Road.

The present office, which provides services such as customer service support to consumer and small business customers, was built in 1976.

Kate Forbes, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy, took part in a ground-breaking ceremony at the new site with Rob Shuter, chief executive of BT Enterprise, today.

Ms Forbes said: “It was great to visit BT’s new Better Workplaces site, which represents another key milestone in Dundee’s £1 billion economic regeneration.

“Our recently published National Strategy for Economic Transformation contains bold and ambitious actions - within the powers currently available to us - to deliver economic prosperity for all Scotland’s people and places.

“The state-of-the-art facility will provide nearly 1,000 quality jobs that will support individuals, communities and businesses to be better connected, whilst benefitting from technological innovation. This latest investment reinforces Dundee’s standing as a centre of technological excellence with a highly skilled workforce.”

The new building, which will be based close to the waterfront, is expected to be completed in 2024.

BT employs more than 7,000 people across Scotland, and is currently undertaking a multi-million-pound of its flagship office in Glasgow.

Mr Shuter said: “BT is one of the largest employers in the Tayside area and we are excited to be able to continue investing in the area, and across Scotland. It is a positive time of regeneration in Dundee and we are thrilled to be part of that story by building our new state-of-the-art office which will become home to nearly 1,000 of our colleagues, securing vital jobs within the economy.

“Right now, our key industries are on the cusp of a technological revolution as Scotland prepares to make the switch from analogue to digital ways of working.

"Only businesses which make the leap will succeed and stay competitive - our role is to help them navigate that journey and our new Charter reflects the priorities that our business and public customers expect to see from BT. Our teams based at our Scottish offices, including Dundee, will be key to Scotland’s economic success.”