UAE-based Arabtec and Malaysian construction company WCT Engineering have won a $1.25 billion contract to build part of Dubai’s ambitious Meydan horseracing complex, the firms said late on Monday.
The announcement brings to an end weeks of speculation about whether the two companies’ joint-venture had been awarded the construction contract.
Media reports from Malaysia last month claimed Meydan had chosen Arabtec and WCT to build the racecourse, however both companies strongly denied having won the deal.
The contract covers the construction of Meydan Racecourse’s one kilometre-long grandstand, which will have the capacity to hold up to 60,000 spectators.
The building will also include a five-star hotel, restaurants, the Meydan Museum and Gallery, covered parking for more than 10,000 cars, as well as being home to the Dubai Racing Club and Emirates Racing Authority.
Meydan is being billed as the most iconic horseracing complex ever constructed.
The project also includes the construction of a business park, dirt and turf racetracks, an 18-hole championship golf course, as well as a residential and commercial district called Meydan City.
Meydan and Dubai Racing Club chairman Saeed Al-Tayer said contracts for the other parts of the project will be announced soon.
Construction work on the grandstand will begin immediately is expected to take two years to complete, Al-Tayer added.
Meydan has set an ambitious target of opening in time to host the 2010 Dubai World Cup.
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