Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has received bids for a fifth interchange serving the Expo 2020 site in Dubai.

Contractors submitted bids for the contract, known as Package 2, on 13 July.

The lowest bidder is Beijing-based China State Construction Engineering Corporation with a price of about AED605m ($165m), which is about 1.5 per cent lower than the second lowest offer of AED614m submitted by the local Al-Naboodah Contracting Company.

The other bidders are Turkey’s Gunal Mapa at AED618m, the local Dutco Balfour Beatty at AED633m, the local Wade Adams Contracting at AED638m, and India’s Larsen & Toubro at AED673m.

In early July, the RTA awarded the first two contracts serving the Expo site to L&T. The contracts are estimated to be worth about AED1.028bn ($280m) combined. Contractors submitted bids for the contracts, known as Package 1 and Package 5 in May. L&T submitted the lowest offer for both.

Bids for Package 3 and Package 4 were submitted in June. Larsen & Toubro was again the lowest bidder for both packages with a combined price of about AED1.21bn. The second lowest bidder for both packages combined was Dutco Balfour Beatty, while the second lowest bidder for Package 3 was Al-Naboodah and the second lowest bidder for Package 4 was Dutco Balfour Beatty.

The RTA traditionally awards contracts to the lowest bidder, but has in the past asked for revised offers and negotiated with other bidders when it has been deemed necessary. With L&T already awarded two interchanges serving the Expo and another road project in the Mirdif area, it may decide that the Indian contractor has too much work to deliver and elect to award the contracts for Package 3 and Package 4 to one of the other bidders.

The Expo site, which is opposite Dubai Investments Park on the Jebel Ali to Lehbab Road, will also be served by the Route 2020 metro line.

The RTA signed a AED10.6bn ($2.9bn) contract to design and build the rail link to a consortium of Spain’s Acciona, Turkey’s Gulermak and France’s Alstom in October last year.

For the Expo site itself, Dubai says it will award 47 construction contracts worth AED11bn ($3bn) in 2017. In March, the local/UK Al-Futtaim Carillion will be the main contractor for the AED2.2bn ($599m) deal to build the three Theme Districts.