The main construction contract to build Gulf Related’s $1bn Al-Maryah Central retail complex in Abu Dhabi will be awarded during the summer.

A high level source close to the project says that negotiations with main contractors are ongoing and an award will be made over the summer. MEED reported in March that the local Alec and Canada’s Brookfield Multiplex have been shortlisted for the contract.

The project involves building a 170,000-square-metre retail centre and two towers. The first tower will be a residential tower with serviced apartments. The second will be a hotel with 200-330 rooms. When complete, the mall will be one of the biggest in the UAE and the largest in central Abu Dhabi.

It will be built on Al-Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi next to Gulf Related’s 35,000 sq m The Galleria mall, which opened in late 2013. Al-Maryah Central is planned to open on 1 March 2018.

The project management consultant is US-based Aecom. The cost consultant is the UK’s Faithful + Gould.

The client is GR Sowwah Retail, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) created by Gulf Related, which is a joint venture of Abu Dhabi’s Gulf Capital and US-based Related.