Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) has extended the deadline for submitting prequalification documents for the Union Oasis project, according to a source familiar with the scheme.

The request for prequalification (RFQ) released in September last year had indicated a 3 December deadline for responses. It also stated that the formal tendering process was to begin in late December, with the winning bidder due to be selected by May 2016 and the contract award to follow a month later.

The Union Oasis mixed-use development is a flagship public-private partnership (PPP) and transit-oriented development (TOD) scheme launched by the RTA. It is to be located above the underground station where the Dubai Metro Red and Green lines meet.

The project will be procured under the auspices of the emirate’s new PPP law, approved in November, and it is also the first TOD project launched in the region.

The UK’s EY has been appointed by the RTA as the transaction adviser. EY completed the feasibility study in 2012 and is now assisting the RTA in the tender process. The firm has teamed up with Faithful+Gould, also of the UK, as technical consultant, and with Trowers & Hamlins for legal consultancy.