Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Development Company has set 24 May as the closing date for bids on the contract to build an estimated $1bn football stadium in the UAE capital.

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; and France’s Vinci Grands Projets with Athens-based Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC).

According to contractors, the prequalification process required interested groups to prove they had experience of designing and building large, complex stadiums. This included the ability to build a retractable roof.

Prequalified groups also had to have completed at least two $1bn projects during the past five years (MEED 22:1:10).

The 65,000-seat football stadium is part of the new Capital City District development next to Khalifa City, between Mussafah and Abu Dhabi International airport.

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.