Marsa Zayed will get underway in phases, as the Jordanian government hands over land for the project. The first two hand offs are scheduled to take place this year, and the third and final transfer is set for 2013. Al Maabar originally acquired the land from the government last year for $500 million.

About 32 million square feet of the project will be made up of residential and office towers, as well as retail and entertainment space. Hotels and a cruise-ship terminal, to undergo construction as part of the project, will make up the remainder of the space.

So far this year, Seattle-based Callison has been chosen to assist on a number of major international projects. It will design the two-million-square-foot mixed-use Hopson International Plaza and the 525,000-square-foot Huacao Lifestyle Center, both in Shanghai; and the 42.3-million-square foot Sorouh City master-planned community outside of Cairo. The firm's clients include several well-known developers and tenants, with a specialty in retail.