ABU DHABI, 28 June 2006 — Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), the tourism asset development arm of Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority, has issued an international tender for the construction of a 10-lane highway bridge linking the UAE capital with Saadiyat Island — the 27 square kilometer island lying 500 meters offshore Abu Dhabi city.
The tender has been issued to 10 international and local/international joint venture contractors which pre-qualified for the project, one of the biggest infrastructure developments in the capital city.
The project includes civil, electrical and mechanical works for a two-km, at-grade10-lane freeway road connecting Abu Dhabi’s Mina Zayed area with Saadiyat Island and the main, 1.5 km long bridge and two, 200 meter off ramps on the island.
“We anticipate making the contract award within the next two months with an eye on construction commencing in the final quarter of this year,” said Mubarak Al-Muhairi, managing director, TDIC. “When completed, access provided by this main bridge will result in a five-minute drive from Abu Dhabi city to Saadiyat.”
Construction of the bridge — which will be the main gateway to Saadiyat Island, which is being transformed into a strategic international tourism destination — is expected to take around 36 months to complete.
“The bridge has been designed as a concrete box girder carrying five lanes of traffic in each direction as well as two future passenger rail system tracks and will be built using segmental technology,” explained Lee Tabler, CEO, TDIC.
The development of Saadiyat Island is the flagship project of TDIC. The destination — which translates from Arabic into Island of Happiness — will be developed in three phases until completion until 2018. Half the size of the tropical island of Bermuda, Saadiyat is the Middle East’s largest single natural island development.
A second 10-lane freeway is also planned to link Saadiyat Island with the Abu Dhabi-Dubai expressway meaning the island will be only a 25 km drive from Abu Dhabi International Airport.