$517m contract awarded to build Al Habtoor City

Dubai’s Habtoor Leighton Group (HLG) has signed a AED1.9bn ($517m) deal with the Al Habtoor Group to be the main contractor for the AED4.9bn ($1.33bn) Al Habtoor City, which is set to become the largest integrated hotel complex in the Middle East, it was announced on Tuesday.

The Al Habtoor City project comprises the construction of three hotels with a total room count of 1623, including a 27 storey W hotel, a 6 storey St Regis and a 37 storey Westin hotel.

To be built on the site of the old Metropolitan Hotel – previously Dubai’s oldest hotel – on Sheikh Zayed Road near the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Mall, the project will also include a 1400 seat Las Vegas-style “aqua” theatre and is due to be completed in early 2016.

Earlier this week, Al Habtoor Group chairman, Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, said the company will be unveiling a mega-project in the next few weeks, without giving any further details.

Al Habtoor said in a statement: "What we have lined up will prove our continuous faith in the UAE economy and leadership. The project we are about to unveil is the biggest of its kind."

“We are very proud to be associated with such a prestigious project. We look forward to working closely with our client to deliver the project to the highest quality. This will be a landmark hotel complex in the region,” said Thrasos Thrasyvoulou, Managing Director of Habtoor Leighton Specon (HLS), which has entered in a joint venture with Drake & Scull International (DSI) to manage the mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems at Al Habtoor City.

“We have successfully worked with the Al Habtoor Group in the past and have always maintained an excellent working relationship with them. We look forward to working with them and HLG again to create a development that will be a landmark not only in Dubai, but for the entire Middle East,” he added.