#PROJECT: THE CULTURAL DISTRICT (Saadiyat Island)

[Parisian Girl]

By Andy Sambidge | Sunday, 5 June 2011 8:39 PM

The international coalition of artists who pledged to boycott the Guggenheim Museum Abu Dhabi over worker conditions on Saadiyat Island has questioned the appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as monitor.

The Gulflabor group of 43 artists said PwC's name was not on a list of monitors recommended by US-based Human Rights Watch to Guggenheim Foundation and Abu Dhabi's Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC).

It said that although it welcomed the move to appoint the monitor, the boycott remained in place.

"We are waiting to be informed by TDIC and the Guggenheim as to whether PwC has any existing business relationship with any of the firms it will be asked to monitor on Saadiyat Island," Gulflabor said in a statement posted on its website.

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/gugge...ve-403683.html

[Black_Diamond]

What about performing art centre? When it would begin to built?

[Coolitude]

Originally Posted by Black_Diamond

What about performing art centre? When it would begin to built?

Funding of non oil and gas projects in the UAE projects, as evidenced by minimal award of projects in 2011, together with failed bond raising by TDIC point to major delays in all the Saadiyat Island Cultural District projects. Like all cultural developments, these projects are not cash flow positive business cases. Perhaps you are not aware that the TDIC returned the Guggenheim Museum substructure bids to contractors unopened in July 2011, and construction management staff have been released. Same story on the Louvre, no award of the main construction contract as yet despite announcements of a 2013 opening date which can no longer be achieved. Realistically you should not expect the Performing Arts Centre to proceed for at least 10 years.

[Parisian Girl]

By AP | Published Wednesday, January 25, 2012

The state developer of an ambitious cultural district in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday outlined a new timetable for the stalled project, with its first attraction - a branch of the Louvre - slated now to open in 2015.

A division of the Guggenheim will follow in 2017, which like the outpost of the French art institution will make its debut in the Emirati capital years later than originally planned.

The landmark projects on the emirate's Saadiyat Island have been hit by a series of delays since being unveiled five years ago, including an announcement last year that the government-backed developer was temporarily dropping plans to award a major construction contract.

The museums had been scheduled to start opening this year, but officials had already said that was no longer possible.

Wednesday's statement by the Tourism Development and Investment Co. gave no further details into the delays. A national museum named after the United Arab Emirates' first president is also expected to open in 2016 nearby.

TDIC said “substantial work” has already been completed on the Saadiyat museums, though actual construction appears largely limited to work on the buildings' foundations.

The revised opening dates are designed to give “each museum sufficient time to establish its own identity on the local and international cultural stage,” the company said. All three museums were previously supposed to open in quick succession and be finished by 2014.

The new timeline adds some clarity to an update the company gave in October, when TDIC said it was committed to the project but was pushing back its completion dates. Though it didn't include a new timeline, that disclosure helped put to rest rumors that the project had been put on hold indefinitely or was being scrapped altogether.

On Monday, Abu Dhabi's executive council approved a broad range of development projects in the emirate, with a focus on social services, housing, health and education. A statement issued after the meeting said the board approved the budgets and opening date for the Saadiyat Island museums, but gave no details.

TDIC is one of several companies set up by Abu Dhabi to diversify the economy and drive development in the emirate, which borders Dubai to the south.

The Guggenheim and the Louvre branches were meant to be the centerpieces of a waterfront museum campus on Saadiyat Island, the cost of which is expected to reach into the tens of billions of dollars. The project, launched in 2007, also calls for a maritime museum and a futuristic-looking performing arts center.

http://www.emirates247.com/news/emir...01-25-1.439494

[monymoe]

Originally Posted by Coolitude

Funding of non oil and gas projects in the UAE projects, as evidenced by minimal award of projects in 2011, together with failed bond raising by TDIC point to major delays in all the Saadiyat Island Cultural District projects. Like all cultural developments, these projects are not cash flow positive business cases. Perhaps you are not aware that the TDIC returned the Guggenheim Museum substructure bids to contractors unopened in July 2011, and construction management staff have been released. Same story on the Louvre, no award of the main construction contract as yet despite announcements of a 2013 opening date which can no longer be achieved. Realistically you should not expect the Performing Arts Centre to proceed for at least 10 years.

Really?

Not cash flow positive?

Since when does Abu Dhabi care about cash-flow-positive? Have you seen Emirates Palace? Have you flown on Etihad Airways? Have you attended the F1@ Yas Island? Have you heard of the Etihad Rail program?

None of the above are cash-flow-positive at the moment (well, except for Etihad Airways, finally making a profit after 7 or 8 years of operations).

Abu Dhabi has not, does not, and probably will not care about cash-flow-positive projects if their intention is to generate a marketing buzz and create some sort of tourist attraction in Abu Dhabi. If it takes 5, 10 or 15 years to generate a profit, that is fine by Abu Dhabi.

On a final note: TDIC is basically a bunch of incompetant fools who take home exaggerated salaries simple for having the right skin and eye colour. Lets hope the new tourism authority does a better job than them.

[cmajewsk]

Originally Posted by monymoe

Really?

On a final note: TDIC is basically a bunch of incompetant fools who take home exaggerated salaries simple for having the right skin and eye colour. Lets hope the new tourism authority does a better job than them.

Wow, speaking from experience monymoe?

[monymoe]

Originally Posted by cmajewsk

Wow, speaking from experience monymoe?

Yup. Its personal experience and stories that are not hard to hide in a city as small as Abu Dhabi.

[uklad1979]

They need to update or remove the exhibition at Emirates palace as it now an embarrassment due to all the incorrect dates, the huge delays and the fact that the maritime museum has done an Abu Dhabi special and just disappeared off the radar.

[Parisian Girl]

By Andy Sambidge | Sunday, 25 March 2012 5:57 PM

The developer of a branch of the Louvre in Abu Dhabi has launched its search for a contractor to build the museum following a series of delays.

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/abu-d...re-451263.html

[Parisian Girl]

by Gavin Davids on Apr 2, 2012

Drake and Scull International, the Dubai based construction company, plans to bid for construction work on the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi.

http://www.constructionweekonline.co...struction-bid/

[Parisian Girl]

Jessica Holland | June 13, 2012


Dr Ulrike Al Khamis speaks on Abu Dhabi's emerging museum landscape at Aga Khan University in London in February. Stephen Lock for The National

In five years, the three museums of Saadiyat Island's Cultural District - Zayed National Museum, Louvre Abu Dhabi and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi - will be just about complete, and we'll have an enviable wealth of relics and artworks at our doorstep. The project has survived an uncertain global economy, but some worries still remain about how the museums will best serve local communities as well as the tourists they will inevitably attract.

http://www.thenational.ae/arts-cultu...y-and-visitors

[Coolitude]

Originally Posted by Parisian Girl

http://www.emirates247.com/news/emir...01-25-1.439494

Louvre snub low point for construction industry

12 July 2012, 14:31 GMT
Abu Dhabi is a buyers’ market and long-term relations with contractors are now of little value to clients


The Tourism Development & Investment Company’s (TDIC) decision to not prequalify two contracting groups for the contract to build the Louvre Museum in Abu Dhabi shows how the relationship between clients and contractors in Abu Dhabi has turned full circle since the market peaked in 2008.
The exact reasons for excluding the joint venture of the local/Australian Al-Habtoor Leighton Group and South Africa’s Murray & Roberts Contractors (Middle East) and Canada’s Brookfield Multiplex are hard to explain. The two groups were shortlisted for the contract last year and were deemed to be technically able and financially secure to take the job on. What the move does demonstrate is that Abu Dhabi is a buyers’ market and long-term relationships with contractors are of little value to clients who are becoming increasingly obsessed with costs.
The situation today is a far cry from 2008 when an overheated market meant suppliers could effectively dictate prices. For contractors, the high point of the relationship with clients came when the UK’s Laing O’Rourke formed a joint venture with the local Aldar Properties for the construction of the $14bn Raha Beach development. The landmark deal led to partnering agreements between clients and contractors, including TDIC, which formed an alliance with Al-Habtoor Leighton.
Those halcyon days came to abrupt end at the end of 2008, and by early 2009, clients in Abu Dhabi had returned to more traditional procurement methods, namely competitive tendering for fixed price lump-sum contracts.
Contractors will be hoping that the Louvre prequalification is the low point for the industry, and if and when the market picks up, relationships with clients improve. Until that happens, Abu Dhabi will remain a buyers’ market, and that means tough times for sellers.

Readers' comments (1)

• Anonymous | 15 July 2012, 7:39 GMT 7:39 am
  The two shortlisted bidders from the 'round two' bids developed their final offers over a period of more than 12 months, which was critical to developing the essential level of technical understanding on this extremely challenging project. It will be virtually impossible to replicate this for the new bidders in this 'round three' a 3-6 month re-bid period. The understanding on the Client side has also been lost, the PMC AECOM has been released and TDIC staff who carried the project knowledge have also been released. This leaves a situation where only new players are involved who need to learn the project, and a period of 12 months at a minimum being necessary to do this project justice. On that basis, an award before Ramadan next year would seem barely achievable, and with a 33 month build programme plus lead in to operations, a mid-2016 opening date would see the earliest realistic date for completion of this great project. A reality check is always advisable, but not often seen.

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[Parisian Girl]

Gehry was in Abu Dhabi alongside Norman Foster and Jean Nouvel.

by Oliver Ephgrave on Nov 8, 2012

Frank Gehry, the 83-year-old celebrity architect of the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, is hoping that he will live to see his project completed.

http://www.constructionweekonline.co.../#.UJ6unYdRWbc

[Parisian Girl]

on Nov 20, 2012

The developer behind Abu Dhabi's plan to build a branch of Paris's world-famous Louvre museum on Saadiyat Island has said construction work will get under way early next year, reports Reuters.

http://www.constructionweekonline.co.../#.UKvi_IdRWbc

[Maximalist]

Originally Posted by Parisian Girl

http://www.constructionweekonline.co.../#.UJ6unYdRWbc

Yes, but architects live forever. Oscar Niemeyer will be 105 on December 15. So Gehry could wait a very long time while still seeing the museum built before he dies.

[Parisian Girl]

By Construction Week | Monday, 21 January 2013 4:47 PM



Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC), has announced a joint venture partnership with L Real Estate to develop ‘The District’ in Saadiyat island’s Cultural District, a retail complex sponsored by Louis Vuitton - Moët Hennessy.

The development will cover an area on the island of 168,000m2, while the structure will comprise three levels, all above ground. The gross floor area of the project will be 258,000m2 and the total built up area 370,000m2, delivering 168,000m2 of leasable space and 550 plus units.

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/abu-d...ct-486709.html


Some photos:
http://www.thenational.ae/business/r...sland#previous

[gevorika78]

[Parisian Girl]

Mar 4, 2013

Prequalification bids for the main contract works on the much feted Zayed National Museum project have been invited by Abu Dhabi’s Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC).

http://www.hoteliermiddleeast.com/16...tional-museum/

[Parisian Girl]

By AFP | Published Tuesday, April 16, 2013


Curators speak during a conference on the new Louvre Art Museum in Abu Dhabi (File)

The Louvre Abu Dhabi gallery on Tuesday unveiled more than 130 artworks from the museum's first permanent collection, ranging from paintings by Picasso and Mondrian to Islamic miniatures.

http://www.emirates247.com/news/emir...04-16-1.502899

[Parisian Girl]

on May 5, 2013

The first concrete pour has begun to complete one of the four piers that will hold a 180m-diameter dome in place at the centrepiece of the Louvre Abu Dhabi.

http://www.constructionweekonline.co.../#.UYpFGrV01ik