Regional development agency One NorthEast has received permission to invest more than £10m in the construction of Knowledge Central, the 65,000sq ft building at the centre of the Knowledge Campus development at Gateshead Quays.

Knowledge Central will be a focus for business and social activities on campus, hosting conferences and product launches, as well as housing smaller businesses and mobile international project teams.

It will promote the transfer of knowledge, ideas and technology for commercial benefit.

The concept was the idea of Express Group, a design and engineering company in Gateshead.

Work is due to start in April, and Knowledge Central will be the first building to be constructed, opening in summer next year, and forming the hub of the Knowledge Campus development.

The campus will cover about 500,000sq ft of business space, creating about 2,000 jobs.

One NorthEast is providing most of the funding, with other funds coming from a variety of sources, including European Regional Development Funding worth £2.9m through the Government Office for the North-East and the Single Regeneration Budget, which was secured by Gateshead Council.

Jane Hogan, director of Knowledge Campus, said: "The scale of this award complements the investment that continues to be made in the Gateshead Quays area. The impact that our development will have on the region will be massive."