Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) has awarded an estimated AED180m ($49m) contract to build a 15,500-square-metre extension at Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre to the local Khansaheb Civil Engineering.

The nine-month expansion project will take the capacity of the centre to more than 122,000 sq m. The new space is scheduled for completion during the first quarter of next year.

The three new halls – named Zabeel 4, 5 and 6 – will form the extension beyond Halls 1, 2 and 3 and will be adjacent to the existing Zabeel Hall. The expansion also involves building a new car park area for 300 vehicles that can also be used as a 6,000 sq m temporary event area.

Khansaheb has worked on previous expansions at Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre and DWTC. In 2009, the contractor won a deal to build a new multipurpose exhibition hall. It previously completed an expansion of the trade centre in 2006, which resulted in an additional 15,000 sq m of exhibition space and increased the facility’s capacity by 30 per cent.