A consortium led by Besix and Plenary has been chosen by the Abu Dhabi government to develop three new school campuses.

The Zayed City Schools public-private partnership (PPP) contract was awarded by the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK).

It is a pathfinder project under Abu Dhabi’s new PPP regulatory framework and is intended to pave the way for increased private sector participation in delivering public infrastructure.

The PPP project includes the design, build, finance, maintenance and transfer of three new school campuses with a capacity of 5,360 students in Abu Dhabi’s Zayed City.

The campuses have been designed to meet Estidama sustainability requirements and ensure Covid-19 resilience in terms of spatial layout and use.

The project is expected to reach financial close in July 2022, with a scheduled term start date for all three campuses in September 2024.

ADIO acting executive director, business enterprise Mohamed Al Dhaheri said, “ADIO is proud to have delivered this procurement on time which has taken 17 months from the commencement of the business case to commercial close. He added that predictability is key to maintaining investor confidence and will be an ongoing priority that will inform ADIO’s decision-making as it continues to build out Abu Dhabi’s PPP programme.

“We want to be considered the gold-standard, and to offer a PPP programme that local and international investors can participate in, safe in the knowledge that we will offer a high-quality and efficient procurement process that is central to Abu Dhabi’s long-term vision for the future,” he said.