Emaar Properties has extended the tender closing date for the contract to build The Address The Boulevard hotel and residential development in the Downtown Dubai area.

The new deadline is 7 October. The local developer invited firms to bid for the contract on 20 September with a closing date of 27 September.

The invited contractors are:

• Al-Futtaim Carillion (local/UAE)
• Arabian Construction Company (Lebanon)
• Bel Hasa Six Construct (local/Belgium)
• Brookfield Multiplex (Canada)
• Murray & Roberts Contractors (South Africa)

Sources close to the project say only five groups have been invited to submit prices.

Located next to the Burj Khalifa, the 63-storey tower will contain 200 five-star hotel rooms and 542 serviced apartments. The 340-metre tower will contain studios, and one-, two-, three- and four-bedroom apartments. The project will be funded by offplan sales. The tower was designed by the UK-based architecture firm Atkins.

The Address project is one of several new property schemes Emaar has planned in Dubai. The developer received bids from contractors earlier this year for the contract to build the Panorama at the Views residential project at its The Greens development, which will comprise two mid-rise residential towers containing 224 apartments. Emaar is also building 226 new villas at its Arabian Ranches development.

In March, the developer announced plans to build a cultural district next to its Burj Khalifa development in the Downtown Dubai area.

The cultural area will contain a modern art museum, an opera house and other cultural facilities. The Dubai Modern Art Museum and Opera House District will also contain two hotels, studios and leisure facilities.