Al-Hikma Development Company has invited selected contactors to bid by 7 March for the contract to build the third phase of the UAE University campus in Al-Ain.

The engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) package 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 late 2006.

According to sources involved with the tender, Oger has now completed work on phases one and two, but has agreed with the client not to build phase three (MEED 8:12:06).

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.

Mubadala is developing three other universities in Abu Dhabi emirate. They are the Zayed University in Khalifa City, the Paris-Sorbonne University campus on Reem Island, and New York University on Saadiyat Island.

The joint venture of the local/Australian Al-Habtoor Leighton Group and South Africa’s Murray & Roberts Contractors (Middle East) is building the Sorbonne and Zayed universities. The contract for New York University is currently being tendered.