The flats will have five or seven bedrooms and each will have a common room with satellite TV and a broadband Internet connection for every student.

It is thought first-year students from Dundee and beyond, and with exacting standards, will rent the flats.

“The standard of accommodation expected by students has greatly increased over the years and the trend is for high-standard, hi-spec accommodation, so we constantly need to think about improving,” said a spokesman for Abertay University.

“For example, it is now a requirement for all accommodation to have Internet access — that kind of high-grade housing is what we need to be able to offer new students.”

At present, Abertay University owns 590 places in five different locations around Dundee, ranging from self-contained flats to en-suite study bedrooms.

An average of 1500 new students enrol at the university each year.

“We don’t have accommodation for every student, but that’s OK because Dundee is such a big city and there is a lot of private accommodation on offer,” the spokesman said.

“Our policy on allocating places is that students arriving at Abertay for the first time receive priority.

“Also, more than 50% of our students come from within 50 miles so there are always a lot who stay at home while studying.”

While rental prices for the new complex, which will occupy a site at the Dudhope roundabout/Lochee Road junction, have not yet been set, the spokesman said it would reflect the quality of facilities offered.

He said, “If you look around you’ll see there is a spread of rental levels from basic to quite hi-spec, high-standard accommodation.

“That said however a number of surveys recently have shown Dundee to be one of the cheapest places to live in while studying.”

According to a Royal Bank of Scotland student living index, Dundee is now the third most cost-effective place to study in the UK, after Plymouth and Cambridge.

The study revealed that a student at either Abertay or the University of Dundee would spend an average of £128 per week on living and housing costs and would earn an average of £98 from part-time employment.

In total, students spend £144m on living and accommodation costs in Dundee annually. Rent takes up £60m of this while £12m is spent on groceries, £6m on going out and £4m on mobile phone costs.

Meanwhile, Dundee University says it has no plans to build any more student housing.

Residences officer Margaret Wiley said, “Dundee University, in partnership with The Sanctuary Group, has developed over 1000 bed spaces during the period 2004 to 2007.

“This new accommodation (Belmont, Heathfield, Seabraes and West Park) has replaced older residences, keeping the number of bed spaces around the same at 1800. All are on campus or within walking distance.

“We have no plans to build any further because we did a lot over the last four years and are now at the point we want to be.

“Currently we have about 30 vacancies and are optimistic of accommodating all applicants.”