Abu Dhabi’s Department of Transport is planning to announce the selection of a preferred bidder for the development of the Mafraq-Ghweifat road by early August.

Sources close to the project say that commercial bids from the three consortiums looking to development the project were opened in early July. Under the original timetable for the project, seven weeks were allocated for evaluating the commercial bids.

Evaluation of the technical bids had been due for completion in April, with financial bids opened shortly afterwards and a preferred bidder named in June. Sources close to the Department of Transport say the aim now is get the preferred bidder selected before Ramadan. The reasons for the delay are unclear.

Although the financial terms of the three bids have now been opened, US investment bank Citigroup is understood to have not yet started work on the scheme. The bank has been appointed liquidity adviser to the Department of Transport, a role which it was expected to commence with the opening of the financial bids to ensure the offers where financially viable and attractive for commercial bank funding.

Three bids were submitted for the public-private partnership project (PPP): a consortium led by Australia’s Macquarie; the Mafraq Motorway Group, led by Austria’s Strabag; and a Chinese joint venture of China Communications Construction Company and MTD Capital.

A source close to the process says, “All three bids are still being evaluated and no one has been disqualified.”

The Department of Transport had prequalified five consortiums to bid for the scheme, but two groups dropped out before the bid deadline.