Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) has selected the local Alec the estimated AED1.3bn ($353m) contract to build exhibition space at the Expo 2020 site.

Known as the Co-Ex Campus, it has been designed to host events and performances as part of the Expo that starts in October 2020, as well as provide an arrival area for visitors travelling to the Expo on the new Route 2020 metro rail link.

The buildings will have a total built-up area of about 150,000 square metres, which includes about 46,000 sq m of exhibition space and 38,500 sq m for the arrival and general concourses.

The design consultant is Australia’s Woods Bagot. The programme manager for the Expo 2020 site is a joint venture of the US’ CH2M and the UK’s Mace.

There has been a string of construction contract awards at the Dubai Expo 2020 site in recent months.

Dubai World Trade Centre has awarded two contracts totalling more than AED1.2bn ($327m) for the construction of its Expo Village development next to the Expo 2020 site at Dubai South.

Beijing-based China State Construction Engineering Corporation has been awarded an estimated AED620m contract for parcels 10 and 11, and India’s Shapoorji Pallonji has been awarded the estimated AED650m contract for the construction of parcels 8 and 9.

The development involves the construction of mid-rise residential towers connected by three-storey podiums.

In January, the UK’s Laing O’Rourke was awarded two contracts totaling AED670m ($183m) for construction work on the Wasl Plaza and connecting access tunnel at the Dubai Expo 2020 site.

The Wasl Plaza contract involves building a concrete apron and two main buildings. The first is the Leadership Pavilion that will be used by dignitaries visiting the Expo site, while the other main building is the Media Pavilion. The buildings will be used as four star hotels after the Expo event has been held.

A steel structure that was awarded to the local/Italian Cimolai Rimond Middle East General Contracting will be built on top of the concrete apron.

The access tunnel is also known as the hammerhead road and provides vehicular access into the heart of the Expo site.

The Expo organisers said at the end of last year that that AED10.8bn ($2.9bn) of contracts awarded for the event in 2017. The largest contract, valued at AED2.2bn, was awarded to the local/UK Al-Futtaim Carillion for the construction of the Thematic Districts.