Abu Dhabi starts airport prequalification

15 February 2010

Midfield terminal complex set to have capacity for 20 million passengers a year

The Supervision Committee for the Expansion of Abu Dhabi International Airport (Scadia) has invited contractors to prequalify for the contract to build the midfield terminal at the airport.

The estimated $6.8bn midfield terminal will be built between Abu Dhabi International airport’s two runways. It will have a total built-up area of 630,000 square metres and capacity to handle 20 million passengers a year. The complex also includes a multi-floor car park.

At least 28 groups have expressed interest in the contract in late January (see table). According to the rules set out by Scadia, companies and joint ventures hoping to prequalify for the tender need to have a minimum combined turnover of $5bn a year and have successfully built at least five other airport terminals, with two of them exceeding $1bn in value (MEED 22:1:10).

Companies that expressed interest
Daewoo Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
Larsen & Toubro (India), Multiplex (Australia), National Projects Construction
Bechtel Corporation (US), Enka (Turkey), Al-Jaber Group
Arabian Construction Company (local/Lebanon), Bouygues (France), Samsung Corporation (South Korea), Six Construct Abu Dhabi (local/Belgium)
Hyundai Engineering & Construction (South Korea), Kumho Engineering & Construction (South Korea)
Consolidated Contractors Company (Athens-based), TAV (Turkey), Arabtec Construction
Taisei Corporation (Japan)
Joannou & Paraskevaides (Cyprus)
Al-Falah
Al-Naboodah Construction
Al-Habtoor Leighton (local/Australia), Murray & Roberts Contractors (South Africa), Hochtief (Germany)
Aldar Laing O’Rourke (local/UK)
China State Construction Engineering Corporation (China)
Al-Futtaim Carillion (local/UK)
Ed Zueblin (Germany)
China Communications Construction Company (China)
Impregilo (Italy), Astaldi (Italy), Pizzarotti (Italy), Sinohydro Corporation (China)
Saudi Binladin Group (Saudi Arabia)
FTR International (US)
Andrade Gutierrez (Brazil), Zagope (Portugal), Baoye Group Company (China)
Acciona (Spain)
FCC Group (Spain)
Odebrecht (Brazil)
Al-Arrab Contracting Company (Saudi Arabia), China Communications Construction (China)
GMR Group (India)
DS Constructions & Infrastructure (India)
UEM Group (Malaysia)
OHL (Spain), El-Seif Engineering & Contracting (Saudi Arabia)

Scadia had previously planned to award a build-operate-transfer deal for the terminal building in the second quarter of 2009, after France’s Aeroports de Paris, Germany’s Hochtief, and Turkey’s TAV were shortlisted for the contract at the start of 2009.

However, in November 2009, the company told MEED it had changed its plans and would now develop the project as a construction contract rather than a build-operate-transfer deal.

US-based Kohn Pederson Fox Associates designed the terminal building. Parsons International, also US-based, is the programme manager.

When the midfield terminal opens at the end of March 2015, it will more than double the airport’s capacity from 12-32 million passengers a year.

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