The UAE’s Presidential Affairs Ministry has invited selected companies to collect tender documents for a marine works package for the new presidential palace development in Abu Dhabi.

The marine work will be executed in the Ras al-Akhdar area of Abu Dhabi Island, between the existing presidential palace and the Emirates Palace Hotel.

The ministry has set 21 February as the closing date for bids on the main construction package on the estimated AED6bn ($1.6bn) palace (MEED 12:1:09).

The new complex will be built between the existing presidential palace and the Emirates Palace Hotel. It will have a total built-up area of about 220,000 square metres. The existing palace is used by the federal government to host cabinet meetings and other government functions.

At least ten bidders have been prequalified for the contract, including the local Alec; the local/UK Al-Futtaim Carillion; Athens-based Consolidated Contractors Company; Turkey’s Nurol Group; South Korea’s Samsung Corporation; Oger Abu Dhabi, the local affiliate of Saudi Oger; and Saudi Binladin Group.

A number of joint venture bidders have also been invited to collect documents. They include the local/Australian Al-Habtoor Leighton Group with South Africa’s Murray & Roberts Contractors (Middle East); a joint venture of Brazil’s Odebrecht with the local/Lebanese Arabian Construction Company (ACC); and a joint venture of the local/Belgian Six Construct Abu Dhabi and the local Arabtec Construction.

The local Dutch Foundation has already started work on the enabling package for the palace.

US-based RW Armstrong is the project manager. The architect is the local Ewan Architectural & Engineering Consultancy. The engineer is UK-based WSP and the cost consultant is Bahrain-based Haj Gulf.