May 24, 2022 13:24
The Abu Dhabi Investment Office, in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge, announced the award of a public-private partnership project to build three schools in Madinat Zayed to a consortium of companies led by Besix and the Bellinary Group, bringing the project to the stage of contracting and commercial closure.
The public-private partnership project for the construction of Madinat Zayed Schools aims to design, build, finance, maintain and transfer three new schools with a capacity of 5,360 students in Madinat Zayed in Abu Dhabi. This project has been designed from inception to awarding and contracting in accordance with the new Public-Private Partnership Law, to contribute to enhancing the participation of the private sector in public infrastructure projects in Abu Dhabi.
The Australian group, “Bilinary” that specializes in developing public-private partnership projects, has a proven track record of delivering infrastructure projects around the world, and “Billinary” is one of the new groups entrants to the business sector in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
In cooperation with the Belgian “Besix” group, which has been active in the country since 1965, and which has supervised many prestigious infrastructure projects such as the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Museum; The consortium will provide an innovative and world-class delivery solution for the construction of Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge schools in Madinat Zayed.
The education services in each of these schools will be provided separately by the “Educational Partnership Schools” which will be selected under the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge’s PPP programme.
This unique project to build schools is the first of its kind integrated with the Public-Private Partnership Program for Education in the Middle East and North Africa, which will enhance the efficiency of operations by taking advantage of the advanced capabilities of the best providers of infrastructure and world-class education services within a framework of One for a public-private partnership.
The schools were designed to meet the sustainability requirements of the Estidama program, and to ensure a high level of flexibility to deal with COVID-19 procedures in terms of use and spatial planning. These schools, when handed over, will provide students with access to high-quality educational environments and modern facilities, enhancing the attractiveness of Madinat Zayed and the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in general.
On this occasion, Mohammed Al Dhaheri, Acting Executive Director of the Commercial Establishments Sector at the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, said: “The Abu Dhabi Investment Office is proud of its success in handing over this project within a record period of 17 months, since the feasibility study was announced, all the way to the awarding and commercial closing stage, which is a record period of time. For such projects in the Middle East and North Africa region, and the quality of the special documents that characterized the tender enhanced the great success of this project.”
Al Dhaheri explained that the ability to anticipate the different needs and requirements of investors is important to maintain their confidence, and this matter will represent an ongoing priority to enrich the decision-making mechanism in the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, which continues its efforts to develop the public-private partnership program in Abu Dhabi.
He said, “We aspire to be a gold standard for investors, and to present the best projects within the framework of the public-private partnership that enables local and international investors to participate in, and enhances their confidence in us and our ability to provide the best projects and major high-quality bids that embody Abu Dhabi’s long-term vision for development.” and prosperity in the future.
For his part, Dr. Tariq Al Ameri, Director of the Infrastructure and Facilities Office at the Department of Education and Knowledge in Abu Dhabi, said: “At the Department of Education and Knowledge in Abu Dhabi, we dedicate our efforts to continue the process of developing the infrastructure of the education sector throughout the emirate, in order to meet the needs of students and parents. Establishing the three new schools With these international standards, it will enhance the access of more students to quality education in Abu Dhabi, and enable them to learn in a healthy and developed environment.”
The bid for the school construction project attracted a selection of international development and investment companies, as the bid was successfully awarded and reached the stage of contracting and commercial closure. The project is expected to reach the financial closure stage in July 2022, to complete the work on the construction of the schools in conjunction with the start of the specified semester for the three schools in September 2024.
This project is part of the Abu Dhabi Investment Office’s Public-Private Partnership Program, which aims to enhance private sector participation and investment in the development of public infrastructure. As the central authority responsible for developing and awarding all infrastructure projects in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the Abu Dhabi Investment Office works with various government agencies and departments to identify and award major infrastructure projects that contribute to enhancing cooperation between the public and private sectors. The Abu Dhabi Investment Office recently updated the Partnership Projects Guide, which provides a comprehensive and practical overview of the frameworks and general procedures for the process of offering, awarding and managing partnership projects in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
In addition to public-private partnership projects, the Abu Dhabi Investment Office is responsible for bidding for infrastructure projects developed under musataha contracts, which are long-term leases of land that enable private sector companies to benefit from the large potential of public lands in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
Source: Al Ittihad – Abu Dhabi
