The UAE’s Al-Futtaim Carillion has been selected as the preferred bidder for Abu Dhabi’s $1bn Reem Mall project.

The announcement follows final permission from the Abu Dhabi Municipality earlier this month.

“Al-Futtaim Carillion was selected as the preferred tenderer due to its strong track record of delivering significant high quality projects in the region, and its team of construction experts,” said Shane Eldstrom, CEO for Reem Mall in a company statement.

Construction work is scheduled to start this year, with the mall planned to open in 2018. Once completed, the scheme will deliver more than 2 million square feet of retail, leisure, and entertainment facilities, including 450 stores and 85 food and beverage outlets.

Local firm Dewan Architects & Engineers is the architect.

The UK’s Faithful+Gould is providing a range of core services, including cost management, development advisory, project controls and specialised commercial management.

Kuwait’s National Real Estate Company (NREC) is developing the project in partnership with fellow Kuwaiti developer United Projects for Aviation Services Company (UPAC), which will invest up to $224m in the scheme through its real estate subsidiary, Al-Arfaj Real Estate Company.