Construction will start immediately after next week’s National Hunt Festival.

The new 6,500-seater stand is due to be ready for the 2016 festival.

The new grandstand will replace the 1920s ‘A&R’ block that currently contains private box facilities.

The Jockey Club investment will also include improvements for owners and trainers and new Royal Box facilities.

Lead project manager on the scheme is EC Harris, while the architect is Gloucester-based Roberts Limbrick, which has worked regularly on Cheltenham’s various upgrades along with other projects in the Jockey Club’s 15-course estate.

Ian Cheung, managing director of Kier Construction’s central operations, said: “We are very excited to be appointed main contractor for this prestigious scheme and we look forward to renewing our working relationship with the racecourse team.

“It is a challenging project, but we will work hard to ensure that throughout the works the impact on the racing calendar is kept to a minimum. Our racecourse team all live locally and are looking forward to delivering this fantastic facility for The Jockey Club and Cheltenham.”

Ian Heeley, Kier’s contracts manager for the project, added: “We are delighted to secure this contract after many months of hard work and are thoroughly looking forward to working with the client team, the designers and our local supply chain to deliver high quality new facilities at Cheltenham Racecourse.

“There is a real buzz around the whole team involved in this project as we prepare to begin operations on site, following The Festival.

“It is a real privilege for me to have the opportunity to lead the team on this high profile construction project, especially as it is in my home town.

“The Kier project team all live locally and we understand the importance of the racecourse and The Festival to our local economy and community.”