Construction firm CIMIC and its Chinese joint venture partner have won a $1.58 billion contract to build a 2.2-kilometre dual two-lane road tunnel in Hong Kong.

CIMIC subsidiary Leighton Asia has a 51 per cent share in the Tseung Kwan O – Lam Tin tunnel, with China State Construction Engineering (Hong Kong) Ltd. accounting for the remainder.

The project is expected to generate revenue for CIMIC of about $805 million.

CIMIC said on Monday that the tunnel would cater to traffic generated from an expected rise in population in Tseung Kwan O when the district is further developed.

“Delivering large infrastructure projects in busy urban areas is a core capability for Leighton Asia,” CIMIC chief executive Marcelino Fernandez Verdes said.

Work on the tunnel starts in July 2016 and is expected to take about five years to complete.