An Australian company has scored a $1.3 billion contract to rebuild an English sporting icon, London's Wembley Stadium.

In one of Australia's largest construction wins, privately-owned Multiplex Constructions will build a long-awaited 90,000-seat national football stadium to replace the historic Wembley sporting arena.

It will tear down Wembley's famous twin towers, a London landmark since 1923, and in their place erect the world's most expensive sports stadium, with better views and a retractable roof.

Multiplex's Australian origins had proved to be no obstacle to dealing with such an important English icon, said managing director Andrew Roberts.

"I don't think we shied away from our Australian origins and I don't think it was a disadvantage at the end of the day," Roberts told reporters.

Work on the $2.2 billion arena, tipped to become the world's best sports stadium, will begin on Monday, ahead of the demolition of the old Wembley Stadium next month, and is due to end before the 2006 FA Cup

Multiplex - which built Sydney's 80,000 seat Telstra Stadium (Stadium Australia) and Federation Square in Melbourne - does not have any financial equity in the stadium, which will be funded through a mixture of bank debt, equity from the Football Association (FA) and several government grants.

The bank finance was borrowed by Wembley National Stadium Ltd, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the FA.

And while the contract would look good in any company prospectus, Multiplex indicated it would not be looking at listing on the Australian Stock Exchange anytime soon.

"I think we have operated highly successfully as a family company and as a private company and there is no doubt that that culture has been an important part of our success," Roberts said.

The most striking feature of the new stadium, due to open in early 2006, will be a 133m-high, 315m-long arch, which will be visible right across London.

The arch will support most of the arena's 7000 tonne roof, removing the need for pillars and ensuring there are no obstructed views.

"The sheer size of that (arch) glistening in the sun over the London skyline will make it truly an architectural monument," Roberts said.

The stadium also includes a retractable roof, two giant screens, each the size of 600 TV sets, and 2000 toilets - more than any other building in the world.

Roberts said there was significant Australian involvement in all facets of the Wembley project, from design and engineering through to the banking and legal teams involved.

He added a significant competent of money from the project would flow back to Australia.

"Not a majority component because most of the labour and quite a lot of materials would be purchased from Europe, but there will be a very significant component," he said.

The deal is a fixed-price contract, but Roberts was confident there would be no more delays to the project, which was first touted in late 1996.

"We have got 40 years of history of delivering complex projects in various parts of the world on time and on budget."

English soccer captain David Beckham said Multiplex had a "big task" ahead of it, but described the plans as amazing.

"Wembley is such a patriotic place, for the whole nation, and everyone knows it all around the world," he said.

Source: industrysearch.com.au