The Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD) and Brookfield Property Partners have started work on a $1 billion office tower within the emirate’s main financial centre, it was announced on Wednesday.

ICD, Dubai’s sovereign wealth fund, has entered a joint venture with Brookfield to oversee the construction of the Foster + Partners-designed tower, which will be 53 storeys high, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Construction work on the building, dubbed ICD Brookfield Place, is to start immediately and finish in 2018, according to the Dubai Media Office.

It is located at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a free zone that is home to many international banks and other institutions.

The project is believed to be the first major development to commence at the DIFC since the 2008 financial crisis.