The local Meydan Group has awarded Italy’s Salini Impregilo a $435m contract to build the Meydan One Mall in Dubai.

Salini Impregilo says it will prepare the area for development by overseeing the excavations and building of the sub- and super-structures for the complex, including the foundations for a ski slope and the concrete support for the steel structure above the mall.

Construction is scheduled to begin this year and is planned to be finished within 23 months. The first phase of the mall is expected to open in 2020.

The 3.7 square kilometre Meydan One development that includes the mall was launched in August 2015. The development will be home to more than 78,300 residents and feature the 711m-tall Dubai One tower, the Meydan One Mall, a 1.2-kilometre ski slope, a 25,000-square-metre indoor sports arena, a civic plaza large enough to host 60,000 people, a 4km canal and a 100-berth marina.

It will also be connected to the proposed extension to the Green line of Dubai Metro. Another local developer, Emaar Properties, is also planning a large retail district nearby at the Dubai Creek Harbour development. That mall will also be connected to the Green Line extension.