Emirates-Morocco General Trading & Investment Company (Emroc) has drawn up a shortlist of contractors to build its Bab al-Qasr Hotel in Abu Dhabi.

The list comprises the UAE/Australian Al-Habtoor Leighton Group; the local/Lebanese Arabian Construction Company (ACC); and Turkey’s Nurol Group.

The winning team will build two 37-floor towers opposite Emirates Palace hotel. The towers will have a total built-up area of about 180,000 square metres. The first will be a 408-room, five-star hotel, while the second will have 229 serviced apartments and a shopping mall.

The other bidder on the contract was the local Alec.

The local National Services & Contracting Company conducted the piling and enabling works. Singapore’s Surbana is the architect and US-based Jacobs Engineering Group is the project manager.

Contractors are currently building two other hotels in the area.

ACC is working on the AED2bn ($545m) Etihad Towers mixed-use development for Sheikh Suroor bin Mohammed al-Nahyan. One of the five towers at the site will be a hotel.

Nurol is also working on the estimated $177m Khalidiya Rotana hotel and residences project for an unknown local real estate developer on the plot next to Etihad Towers.