The Scottish Government has pledged support for Tayside and Fife’s city deals.
Economy secretary Keith Brown said work will take place this year to drive forward City Deals for Edinburgh, Dundee and Perth, and Stirling.
Fife is part of the Edinburgh and South East City Deal region, which hopes to secure £1 billion of funding which, it is hoped, could lead to a further £3.2 billion of private sector funding.
The Tay Cities deal covers Perth and Kinross, Dundee, Angus and parts of Fife.
It hopes to secure around £400 million of funding to drive forward the Tayside economy and leverage additional private sector investment.
It has been claimed the impact of the City Deal could dwarf that of Dundee’s ongoing waterfront regeneration.
But Tayside’s councils have not yet lodged their proposals for how the money would be spent, which led to a political row after Labour MSP Jenny Marra said the delay had allowed other areas, such as Stirling, to jump ahead of Tayside in the queue for funding.
The Scottish Government has already promised £760 million funding over the next 10 to 20 years in Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness through City Region Deals.
It is expected the Glasgow and Aberdeen agreements will deliver more than 32,000 jobs.
Other areas, including the three Ayrshire councils, are planning their own city deals.
Mr Brown said he looked forward to seeing the proposals from Tayside later this year.
He said: “We are already seeing the success of city region deals in Aberdeen where we’re supporting its position as a global oil and gas hub, and in Glasgow where investment will improve infrastructure and business innovation.
“We have been consistent in our support for city region deals for all our cities and I look forward to working with Stirling and Clackmannanshire, Edinburgh & South East Scotland and the Tay Cities Region in the coming year.
“We know that all areas of Scotland need to flourish if we are to deliver on our economic ambitions to increase inclusive growth.
“That is why we have committed to working with regional partnerships such as the three Ayrshires on their Ayrshire Growth Deal. The deal will identify how best to deliver inclusive growth, unlock investment and boost infrastructure.”
Writing in The Courier on Wednesday, the UK government’s minister for Dundee Lord Dunlop said he expected the proposals to “create real and lasting change for local people”.
The Scottish Government and UK Government officially signed the Aberdeen City Region Deal in November.
Both Governments are investing up to £250m over the next 10 years.
The Scottish Government will also provide an additional £254 million to support transport, digital and housing proposals.
The Heads of Terms for Inverness City Region was signed in March 2016 with the Scottish Government committing to £135 million over a period of up to 10 years.
