Abu Dhabi’s Al-Hikma Development Company has awarded an estimated AED450m ($122m) contract to local/UK Al-Futtaim Carillion to build the third phase of the UAE University Campus in Al-Ain.

The construction contract involves building offices, laboratories and accommodation blocks, with a total-built up area of 75,000 square metres.

The successful bidder will replace Oger Abu Dhabi, the local affiliate of Saudi Oger, which was awarded an estimated AED1.5bn ($408m) construction contract for the first three phases of the project in 2006.

According to sources involved with the project, Oger completed work on phases one and two, but subsequently agreed with the client not to build phase three (MEED 1:2:10).

Australia’s Cox Group is the design consultant and Bovis Lend Lease, also of Australia, is the project manager.

Al-Hikma Development Company was established by Abu Dhabi government-owned Mubadala Development Company in 2005 to develop and operate the university under a 28-year build-own-operate-transfer agreement.

Al-Futtaim Carillion was also recently awarded a contract by Mubadala to design and build the New York University Abu Dhabi’s main campus on Saadiyat Island.

The campus will be built at Saadiyat Island’s cultural district. It will have lecture theatres, IT buildings, a library, laboratories, accommodation and sports facilities.

Construction work is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of this year, with the estimated completion date set as the first quarter of 2014.

Mubadala is developing two other universities in Abu Dhabi: Zayed University in Khalifa City and the Paris-Sorbonne University campus on Reem Island. The Al-Habtoor/Murray & Roberts joint venture is the construction contractor on both schemes (MEED 27:4:10).