Local developer Wasl has awarded South Korea’s Ssangyong Engineering & Construction the contract to build its Andaz Hotel development in Dubai.

Located in Jumeirah at the La Mer development, the project involves the construction of a seven-storey, five-star hotel with 156 guest rooms. The gross floor area is 22,176 square metres. Completion is planned for March 2020 before Expo 2020 starts in October of that year.

Andaz is a boutique hotel brand owned by US-based chain Hyatt.

The Investment Corporation (ICD) is a shareholder in Ssangyong Engineering & Construction. Since ICD acquired shares, the contractor has secured work on several high-profile projects in Dubai, including the extension to the Atlantis resort on the Palm Jumeirah and ICD Brookfield Place at Dubai International Financial Centre.

Before the ICD transaction, Ssangyong had limited involvement in Dubai’s construction market after it finished work on the Grand Hyatt and Emirates Towers more than a decade ago.