Galliford Try has announced that it has been selected as Genting UK's preferred contractor for the planned £80m Resorts World at The NEC leisure and entertainment development.

The 55,000sq m (592,015sq ft) complex is expected to feature a Genting-operated casino; a hotel; a spa; a banqueting/conference centre; food/drink outlets and a multi-screen cinema. It is hoped that work will commence during the first quarter of 2012, with Resorts World at The NEC currently scheduled for completion during the first quarter of 2014.

Galliford Try chief executive Greg Fitzgerald said: "We are delighted to be selected as preferred bidder by Genting UK for what will be one of the most significant leisure and entertainment developments to be built in the UK in recent years." In June, Solihull Council gave plans for the new leisure and entertainment complex a boost after it confirmed that Genting UK had been awarded a large casino premises licence.