Dubai: Al Futtaim Carillion, a venture partly owned by London-listed Carillion Plc, has been chosen as the main contractor for a $600 million (Dh2.2 billion) project as Dubai prepares to host the 2020 World Expo, the Dubai government said on Thursday.

The company will develop three districts of the Expo site that are expected to house as many as 136 pavilions for the world’s fair.

Al Futtaim Carillion is 51 per cent owned by Dubai firm Al Futtaim and 49 per cent by Carillion Construction Overseas Ltd, part of the Carillion group, according to the venture’s website.

The contract, the first of $3 billion of construction deals that Dubai plans to award for the Expo in 2017, was won in a competitive procurement process, the Dubai government said.