The contract involves removing more than 200 million cubic metres of earth - which will be used to form new landscapes, including hills up to 200 metres high - along a 9 kilometre stretch of the waterway. Work on phase one will begin this week, with excavation and land reforming to be completed in three years (MEED 5:9:08).

Ten other companies were bidding for the project, including the local Al-Shafar Transport Company, Australia's Gulf Leighton in a joint venture with Netherlands-based Van Oord, Belgium's Jan De Nul, Australia's Minesite and Iran's Mobin.

The tender for the phase two earthworks, which will involve similar quantities of earthmoving is expected soon.

The client is Dubai-based developer Limitless.