The UK’s Laing O’Rourke has been selected for the contract to build the Project Star mixed-use development at the Expo 2020 site.

Work on the fast track project is being procured using a two stage tender process to ensure that it opens in time for the 2020 Expo.

Laing O’Rourke has been selected for the contract after initial offers with unit rates and margins were submitted by at least three contractors on 20 October as part of the first stage.

The second stage involves the selected contractor working with the project client towards a target price, which will then be converted into a lump sum contract once the design is complete and expected costs can be fully determined.

Project Star is being developed by the joint venture of Emaar Properties and Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC). It includes a retail mall and two hotels and a gross floor area of 216,340 square metres.

The phasing for the project has not been finalised. It could be delivered in two phases, with the first including a retail mall and one of two Rove branded hotels. The second phase would be an expansion to the mall and the second Rove branded hotel. There will also be a large car park, which is expected to have nearly 8,000 spaces.

JLL is providing project and cost management services for the Emaar/DWTC joint venture. Singapore’s DP Architects is the concept architect. The local Brewer Smith Brewer Gulf is the lead design consultant for the retail mall. Mott MacDonald is the engineer for the parking and the infrastructure. The local Archgroup is the consultant for the first Rove hotel. Aurecon is the consultant for the traffic impact study.

In late September Dubai said that the total of all contracts and purchase orders Expo 2020 Dubai is approximately AED1.95bn ($530m). For actual work on site the activity has been limited to earth moving and foundations work.