Tdic Delays Openings Of Abu Dhabi Louvre And Guggenheim Museums

The Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) in Abu Dhabi has announced that it will be postponing the anticipated opening of three museums in the city.

According to the Abu Dhabi-based government-owned company, the Guggenheim and the Louvre museums and the Zayed National Museum will not be opening to tourists taking Abu Dhabi holidays in 2013 or 2014 as was initially planned, and no new opening date has been given so far.

TDIC announced recently that it had cancelled a tender that was related to the construction of the Frank Gehry-designed 450,000 square-feet Guggenheim museum in the city.

In a statement, the company said: "Due to the immense magnitude of the work associated with the development of such consequential projects, the company has decided to extend the delivery dates.

"This will ensure that quality is not compromised, and allow each establishment the time needed to create its own identity on the local and international cultural stage.

TDIC added that significant progress has been made on the museum project, including the completion of architectural designs.
It added: "The company is currently working closely with its valued partners on the creation of the new delivery timeline and looks forward to announcing this in due course."

Earlier this year, firms competed for the $109 million contract for the Guggenheim project, including UAE's Al Habtoor-Leighton Group, Dubai builder Arabtec , Saudi Oger, Egypt's Orascom Construction and South Korea's Samsung C&T.

The $27 billion art and cultural project is one of the largest of its kind in the Middle East and is expected to attract thousands of international visitors enjoying Abu Dhabi holidays once it has opened to the public.

The Guggenheim and Louvre museums will be built on the Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi. Located 500m of the coast of Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island is a world class leisure, residential, business and tourism hub.

The natural island will be offering luxury Abu Dhabi hotels, iconic landmarks, over three million square metres of office space, marinas with berths for up to1,000 boats, two championship golf courses, civic and leisure facilities, sea-view apartments and upscale villas.

Situated on 27 square-kilometres of land, Saadiyat island will feature seven districts and will be completed in phases up until 2020. Once completed, over 160,000 people are expected to live there all year round and thousands more will be visiting during holidays to Abu Dhabi.