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4 groups submit revised bid for Abu Dhabi airport project

By Sona Nambiar The four shortlisted consortia bidding for the general construction contract for Abu Dhabi Airports Company 's ( ADAC ) multi-billion dollar Midfield Terminal Building (MTB) submitted their revised bids on Tuesday morning, a person familiar with the project said.

"We expect to hear from the authorities before the start of summer," the person told Zawya. "The entire Abu Dhabi airport project is seeing positive movement in terms of construction going ahead on different fronts."

ADAC recently advertised seeking expressions of interest from contractors to register for two projects, 'Terminal 3 A380 Gates Expansion' and 'Terminal 1 Baggage Reclaim Expansion', and more work is expected to come the way of the construction industry in the future.

The current four consortium bidders are:

- Bechtel-ENKA-Al Jaber Group

- Samsung-ACC-Six Construct

- Hyundai Engineering and Construction-Kumho Industrial-China State-Al Shafar

- TAV-CCC-ATC.

The two consortia of Al Habtoor-Murray & Roberts-Hochtief and L&T-NPC-Joannou & Paraskevaides (Overseas) fell out of the race around mid-February.

The 700,000-square-meter terminal building is one of the most crucial projects to be undertaken in the UAE and will initially handle 27-30 million passengers per year. Tenders for the construction of the terminal were received in November 2011. "Following the completion of extensive site preparation, piling and foundation works in 2010 and 2011, construction of the MTB is planned to commence during the second quarter of 2012," ADAC said last month, adding that it had received approval from the Executive Council for the construction of the new Midfield Terminal Complex (MTC) at Abu Dhabi International Airport .

The MTC is expected to become the primary gateway for airlines operating to Abu Dhabi and the future home of Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE.

"The MTB, which is expected to go live in the first half of 2017, is the key component of the MTC development program at the airport and it will contribute to the long-term success of the aviation sector in the emirate of Abu Dhabi," said ADAC chairman Khalifa Al Mazrouei.

Abu Dhabi International Airport continues to be one of the fastest growing airports in the world, with growth rates of 19.7% over the last five years. The airport currently handles in excess of 12 million passengers per year and growth over the next 20 years is forecast to be "robust, requiring additional facilities to accommodate the increased traffic demand", according to a statement.

The construction of the new terminal is the next major stage in the overall development of Abu Dhabi International Airport . Further capacity increases in the existing terminals are also planned to handle increasing volumes of transfer passengers prior to the opening of the new terminal.

The capacity enhancement program would include the development of a passenger arrival hall, bus gates, security screening facilities and additional A380-capable gates and stands. In addition, extensive work would be carried out, in parallel with the MTB, to develop the East Midfield; a new 200-hectare support area that would include facilities for cargo handling, in-flight catering, ground handling and other ancillary facilities.

© Zawya 2012

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