Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has awarded the first two contracts estimated to be worth about AED1.028bn ($280m) for the construction of the first two interchanges serving the Dubai Expo 2020 site to India’s Larsen & Toubro (L&T).

Contractors submitted bids for the contracts, known as Package 1 and Package 5 in May. L&T submitted the lowest offer for both. The other bidders were the local Al-Naboodah Contracting, the local Wade Adams Contracting, Turkey’s Gunal Mapa, the local Dutco Balfour Beatty, and Beijing-based China State Engineering Corporation.

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.

Contractors have been invited to submit bids for the fifth interchange, which is known as Package 3.

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.