Dubai’s Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) is preparing to award the public-private partnership (PPP) contract for Union Oasis, the emirate’s first transit-oriented development (TOD).

According to sources familiar to the project, negotiations are progressing with selected contractors and an award is likely after Ramadan.

MEED reported in November last year that five companies and joint ventures, comprising mostly local developers, submitted an offer for the contract.

It is understood that three of the five bidders have dropped out from the negotiations.

The five bidders initially reported include:

• Al-Shafar General Contracting (local)
• ITNL Infrastructure Developers/ IL&FS Transportation Networks (local/India)
• Emaar (local)
• Deyaar (local)
• Yapi Merkezi (Turkey)

Union Oasis is a mixed-use project to be developed above the underground station where the Dubai Metro Red and Green lines meet.

It will be the second project likely to be awarded under the auspices of Dubai’s newly implemented PPP law.

In May last year, Dubai Courts appointed Park Line for the $80m contract to convert a portion of the car park at the Dubai Courts premises into an integrated development that would include two buildings, one to house the Supreme Courts and cater to commercial and retail establishments, and the other to comprise a multi-level car park equipped with robotic car parking technology.

Park Line, a special purpose vehicle (SPV) created by the Dubai subsidiary of India’s IL&FS Transportation Networks Limited (ITNL) and Next Generation Parking (NGP) of Saudi Arabia, will deliver the project on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer (DBFOT) basis.