Habtoor Leighton Awarded $US515m Hotel Construction In Dubai

Leighton Holdings subsidiary,

Habtoor Leighton Group

(HLG), has been awarded a US$515 million contract by the

Al Habtoor Group

as part of the US$1.33 billion (AED4.875 billion) Habtoor Palace hotels development in Dubai.

Comprising a five-level podium, one 36-storey tower and one 25-storey tower within a total GFA of 350,000 square metres, HLG will be responsible for the construction of what will become the largest integrated hotel complex in the Middle East.

The development will include:

• 1,600 hotel rooms, spread between three hotels (lifestyle, luxury and main)

• An iconic Las Vegas-style ‘aqua’ theatre

• A French provincial-inspired garden

• Food and beverage venues

Located on the site of the Dubai's oldest hotel, the Metropolitan Hotel, the site forms part of the “Old Town” development which includes the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Mall.

According to the contractor, design works commenced in January this year with demolition of the existing hotel scheduled for March. It is expected early works would likely begin in June 2012.

A four year construction program will see completion scheduled for the second half of 2016.

HLG has constructed many of Dubai’s most well known hotels, including the 7-star Burj Al Arab, the Jumeirah Beach Hotel, the Dubai Shangri-la Hotel and the Madinat Jumeirah.