Malaysia's WCT Engineering and UAE's Arabtec Construction have won a $1.3 billion contract to build a racecourse in Dubai.

WCTE, in joint venture with Arabtec Construction, won the job to build the Nad Al Sheba Racecourse in Dubai in a deal valued at roughly 4.6 billion ringgit, WCT said in a stock exchange statement on Tuesday.

WCTE and Arabtec share the rights and liabilities of the joint venture on a 50-50 basis, WCT said, adding that the construction period will take about 25 months.

Under the contract, the JV will receive advance and progress payments as work progresses, WCT said.

The Middle East construction sector is a $1 trillion market, with indications of over 2,000 projects either planned or under way in the region, JP Morgan said in a September research note.

WCT Engineering has built Formula 1 race tracks in Malaysia and Bahrain and is developing another circuit in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

More than 60 percent of WCT Engineering's order book is Middle East-derived, making it JP Morgan's top construction pick.

WCT Engineering shares, halted for the announcement, have more than doubled in a year. They last traded at 6.60 ringgit. - Reuters