In just over nine months, a sleek new state high school is expected to rise above an empty Richmond carpark and open its doors to year 7 students.

Premier Daniel Andrews marked the start of its construction on Tuesday, saying that the $43 million project would be Victoria's first vertical state high school.

"You will always provide the best outcomes for students if you have the best modern facilities and that is why this school will be state-of-the-art," he said.

The school will accommodate 650 students, with a sports campus on Gleadell Street opening at the start of 2018 and a four-storey academic campus on Griffiths Street opening at the start of the following year.

The sports campus will initially accommodate year 7 students while the second campus is being finished.

State governments are increasingly looking to build vertical schools in inner-city areas where land is expensive and the population is booming.

The Andrews government has started building a new vertical state primary school in Ferrars Street, South Melbourne.

Education Minister James Merlino said Victoria needed to accommodate 90,000 extra students over the next five years. "The pressure is huge," he said.

Justin Naylor, a father of four who has spearheaded the Richmond High School Choices campaign since 2006, said the school would be a "tremendous asset" for the community.

"After almost more than 10 years of toil and frustration for a small and dedicated group of Richmond parents we commence a milestone project to educate the children of Richmond and surrounding inner-city suburbs," he said.

He hopes his successful campaign inspires other inner-city residents to push for better education options.

Richmond MP and Planning Minister Richard Wynne – who has vowed to recontest his marginal seat at the 2018 election and faces a fierce campaign from the Greens – is also keen to promote the school.

He promised it would be built ahead of the 2014 state election.

Richmond High was closed by the Kennett government in 1992, and two years later the site was transformed into the popular Melbourne Girls' College.

Boys in the area who want to attend a state school currently have to travel to Auburn High School in Hawthorn, Kew High or Collingwood College.

Like many new schools, Richmond High will open its doors to the community. The sports precinct will boast a competition grade indoor gym, four netball courts, a canteen and multi-purpose rooms.

Colin Simpson, who attended the original Richmond High, has been appointed principal. He will spend this year appointing staff and working with the architects and builders.

David Tweedie, the director of architecture firm Hayball, said he wanted to make sure that the vertical school felt welcoming and "like one place".

Opposition Education spokesman Nick Wakeling said the government needed to explain why this school was a priority.

"Melbourne's population is growing by 100,000 people each year. We need to hear Daniel Andrews' plan to build new schools in growth areas," he said.