The three companies had purchased the disused Porta Romana railway yard site for €180 million (£156 million/$215 million) in November 2020.

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, architects of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, have also been appointed to design the Athletes’ Village following an architecture competition.

They are tasked with creating a zero-impact Olympic Village in line with Nearly Zero Energy Building Requirements (NZEB).

The site is based in the south-west quadrant of the railway yard in southern Milan, and covers about 60,000 square metres.

To help minimise the environmental impact, COIMA says that all buildings will be Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified, solar power will provide more than 30 per cent of the energy required, and rainwater will be used to reduce the usage of drinking water and carbon dioxide.

The aim is also to convert the village into accommodation for approximately 1,000 students within four months of the completion of Milan Cortina 2026.

Buildings will additionally be used for affordable housing, while the Olympic Village Plaza will serve as a neighbourhood square.

Manfredi Catella, the founder and chief executive of COIMA, said that sustainability and the site’s post-Games use were at the heart of the project.

"The 2026 Olympic Village will represent a new urban laboratory for Milan, the first to be designed and built in its future configuration with spaces, functions and materials already designed for their conversion, meeting NZEB principles," he said.

Design partner at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill Colin Koop, added: "Rather than ceasing to be of use after the Olympics, the Porta Romana Olympic Village will ultimately become a vibrant, self-sustaining neighbourhood built around the principles of social equity, environmental commitment, wellness, and inclusivity.

"The village adopts the rhythm of the area’s streetscape, creating a porous urban block with a variety of public spaces and communal anchors that will enhance Milan’s vibrant tapestry of ground floor experiences."

The Olympic Village is due to be completed in July 2025.

It will host athletes whose events are taking place in Milan, including ice hockey and skating events, with two other sites to be used at Cortina D'Ampezzo and Livigno.

Following a two-week public consultation in March and April 2021, plans have also been updated for the wider Parco Romana project, which the Olympic Village falls under.

This project has been designed by a consortium which includes London-based trio PLP Architecture, Outcomist and Arup, New York City’s Diller Scofidio + Renfro and Turin’s Carlo Ratti Associati.

The update has placed added emphasis on public space elements, including the Central Park, eco-zones featuring sports pitches, children’s play areas or urban gardens, and a suspended forest connecting the site from east to west.

Planners hope the project will act as a sustainable model for future urban redevelopment.

The Milan Cortina Winter Olympic Games are due to start on February 6 2026, with the Opening Ceremony held in the San Siro or a proposed new stadium on the same site.