Dubai Parks & Resorts, which is building three new theme parks in Dubai’s Jebel Ali, has named a team of contractors to carry out the multibillion-dirham project.
The developer said that it had appointed South Korean contractor Samsung C&T to oversee the overall project.
Besix Orascom, a contractor involved in the construction of Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Tram, will be responsible for building most of the Legoland theme park, while UK-based Laing O’Rourke and Dubai-based Al Futtaim Carillion will build a large chunk of the Hollywood movie theme park Motiongate. Arco General Contracting has been appointed to build Bollywood Parks.
Dubai Parks & Resorts is a subsidiary of Meraas Holding, the private property company of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice-President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai. It said that plans for Legoland Dubai, a Bollywood theme park and a Hollywood movie theme park ,which are expected to attract five million visitors a year between them, had received approval from government authorities.
It said that workers have already completed 30 per cent of the infrastructure work needed to support the theme parks on a 25 million square feet site close to Al Maktoum International Airport and the 2020 Expo site.
US-based Hill International has won the contract to manage the production and installation of all shows and rides.
UK-based Kier Group will be in charge of connecting the utilities at the three parks while Dubai- based ETA will build a power sub-station on the site and Abu Dhabi- based Tabreed will provide district cooling.
Currently the patch of desert, shielded from view by Sheikh Zayed Road, is busy with more than 1,500 workers assembling the attractions, which are planned to open in 2016.
Dubai Parks & Resorts, which is thought to be planning an initial public offering before the end of the year, said that construction work on a new power substation for the project is now 35 per cent complete and excavation work on a district cooling plant has started.
And as works ramp up on the Dh10 billion project, the number of workers on site is expected to increase fourfold to 6,000 next year.
Dubai Parks & Resorts added that the three parks had been designed by firms of architects including Rabben Herman, Gensler, HOK, RTKL, Forrec and Riva Creative. CH2M Hill and Samsung SDS also provided infrastructure design.
“A megaproject such as Dubai Parks & Resorts requires partners that have a strong track record in developing and delivering leisure and entertainment concepts of this scale,” said Raed Al Nuaimi, the chief executive of Dubai Parks & Resorts.
“Following a stringent bidding process we have selected consultants and contractors with whom we are working closely to deliver an entertainment experience that brings to life the UAE leadership’s vision of positioning Dubai as a leading global tourist destination.”
lbarnard@thenational.ae
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