OMNIYAT, a leading developer in the Middle East, said work on its flagship project The Opus has reached the halfway mark, with the structure due to be completed in October.

The Dh2.5-billion-plus ($680 million) The Opus project is a mixed-use development that has a built-up area of almost 2 million sq ft, including an area of 250,000 sq ft dedicated to entertainment and fine dining.

Omniyat expects the construction to progress at a faster pace over the coming months, with Brookfield Multiplex, the contracting company, working to complete one floor per week.

Located in Burj Khalifa District, The Opus construction site has more than 1,000 workers engaged in frenetic activity to complete the tower, designed by renowned architect Dame Zaha Hadid, on schedule.

“We are delighted with the construction work at The Opus, especially with the building façade starting to take its spectacular shape in Burj Khalifa district,” said Mahdi Amjad, Omniyat executive chairman and CEO.

 “The fabrication of the complex curved glass façade mock-up is also under way. When completed, the façade promises to be the most outstanding and eye-catching among all buildings in Dubai,” he said.

An artist’s rendition of the ‘ME by Melia’ interior.

In a recent development, Omniyat unveiled the artist’s renderings of the Middle East’s first ‘ME by Melia’ hotel, also designed by Hadid, which will be housed in The Opus.

The Opus will feature signature limited edition furniture pieces designed by Hadid. The renderings unveiled by Omniyat detail the unique interiors of the ME hotel lobby, the vertical café, the lounges and the reception area.

ME by Melia is an international hospitality brand that spans the world’s global capitals.

Hadid has designed a sequence of dramatic event spaces for the hotel, which will be first ‘ME by Melia’ hotel in Asia. Shaped by functional and programmatic considerations, yet dependent on the overriding formal language of the design, the interiors express Hadid’s investigations into the concepts of fluidity and of seamless spatial flow.

The ME by Melia hotel will feature Michelin-star restaurants, lounges and cafes across an area of 250,000 sq ft, with entertainment options selected from the best in the Middle East, New York, Miami, London and Las Vegas, according to Amjad.