The minister and accompanying dignitaries were impressed with the village facilities

Abu Dhabi, 30 March, 2010: Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), the master developer of Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, today welcomed the Bangladesh Minister of Labour Khandker Mosharraf Hossain, the Ambassador of Bangladesh, Mr Md Nazmul Quaunine and Consul General of Bangladesh, Mr Abu Zafar, and accompanying dignitaries on a tour of Saadiyat Island which included the newly opened Manarat Al Saadiyat and the Saadiyat Construction Village.

As Bangladesh is one of the largest suppliers of manpower to the United Arab Emirates the delegation were keen to view the Construction Village which has set a new benchmark for living standards of construction workers in the region. The village is now home to more than 4,500 construction workers out of which 1,793 are from Bangladesh.

On the tour of the village the Minister engaged with the workers and was extremely impressed with their positive feedback. "It cannot be better than this", he commented following a briefing on an art competition for Saadiyat Island workers, which is currently running. The Bangladesh Ambassador generously donated books to the Construction Village library and also handed his business cards to some of the workers so that they can contact him if ever in need.

The 21 hectare site, located on the island's south coast, offers three types of accommodation blocks ranging from two- to six-bed rooms. The accommodation blocks are built around a communal recreational facility, which includes a dining hall, library, games room, internet cafe, supermarket, gymnasium, TV rooms and outdoor court for tennis and racquet sports. When the landscaping is completed in June 2010, the Saadiyat Construction Village will also offer a four hectare, floodlit, multi-purpose grassed sports oval.   

The delegation also visited Manarat Al Saadiyat which is a purpose-built artistic venue on Saadiyat Island that will house three galleries on completion and is already hosting international exhibitions. Guests were escorted through a tour of The Saadiyat Story, an exhibition inaugurated last week which showcases the history, current projects and future plans for Saadiyat Island.

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© Press Release 2010