The new secondary school being developed by Aldar Properties in the Al-Bateen district of Abu Dhabi will cost $35m and is scheduled for completion by September 2011, sources close to the deal tell MEED.

Dubai-based Dewan Architects & Engineers won the contract to design and manage the construction of the new secondary school in early 2010. Dewan will complete architectural and engineering designs, and provide supervision services on the construction of the 25,800 square-metre school for Abu Dhabi’s Aldar Properties.

The concept designs for the three-storey school were drawn up by Singapore-based architect CPG Corporation. The school will cater for 1,120 students. It will replace an existing facility and provide teaching space for social health, citizenship and Arabic/Islamic education.

Sources close to the deal tell MEED that the school will cost up to $35m to develop, and that Aldar plans to complete construction in time for the start of the 2011 school year.

The three-storey school project will include:

• Classrooms
• Laboratories
• Home economics facilities
• A multi-material workshop
• Music classrooms
• Drama studios
• An indoor swimming pool
• A multi-purpose hall
• A performance hall
• An educational courtyard
• Administration facilities
• Outdoor sport facilities

The project is part of an Abu Dhabi Education Council initiative to build a world-class education system in the emirate. In addition to building several new schools, the council announced plans in March to upgrade all government classrooms by 2015-16.