Abu Dhabi government-owned investment firm Mubadala Development Company has extended to 21 June the tender closing date for the contract to build an estimated $1bn football stadium in the UAE capital.

The original closing date was 24 May.

Five groups have prequalified for the tender, according to sources involved in the bidding process.

They are France’s Bouygues with the local/Lebanese Arabian Construction Company (ACC); South Korea’s Samsung Corporation and Germany’s Ed Zueblin; Japan’s Taisei Corporation and Beijing-based China State Construction Engineering Corporation; France’s Vinci Grands Projets with Athens-based Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC), and China’s Sinohydro Corporation.

The 65,000-seat football stadium will have a retractable roof and is part of the new Capital City District development next to Khalifa City, between Mussafah and Abu Dhabi International airport (MEED 12:2:10).

Mubadala held talks with Ed Zueblin in 2008 to design and build the stadium. The discussions failed to lead to a contract award, although Zueblin did complete piling and enabling works.

UK firms Mott MacDonald and Arup are the project manager and engineering consultant respectively. Davis Langdon, also of the UK, is the cost consultant.

US-based John Buck International had also been working on the project although its role has now ended.