The eight biggest Dutch university campuses plan to set up a joint property fund to attract money from investors to further develop their sites, the Financieele Dagblad says on Thursday.

The aim is to generate between €1bn and €2bn from institutions such as pension funds, the paper says. The paper bases its claims on university sources and says some €500m worth of property projects have already been drawn up.

These include plans for conference centres, start-up incubators and complexes where the private and public sector can carry out joint research. Amsterdam’s Science Park, Technopolis in Delft, the Leiden Science Park and Wageningen’s UR are among the campuses involved in the project.

According to the paper, investing in a single campus is too risky for institutional investors but a joint project is much more attractive. A feasibility study is due to be completed this autumn, the paper says.