Abu Dhabi funfair plan in pipeline

Plans include a funfair, a monorail and six structures shaped like the continents of North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australasi

The construction contract for a mixed-use leisure, retail and educational project in Abu Dhabi will be out to tender “within a month,” a spokesperson for the development told Construction Week.

The location of the project, which was designed by UK-based architecture and consulting firm MLM, is yet to be finalised. The client is the Abu Dhabi Department of Municipal Affairs (DMA).

The plan, unveiled at the DMA’s stand at Cityscape Abu Dhabi last week, includes a fun-fair, a monorail and a series of six structures shaped like the continents of North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australasia.

The value of the contract, which was originally due for completion on December 2 this year, is also under study. “We are doing the financial analysis at the moment,” the spokesperson said.

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MLM chairman Steve Oliver and CEO David Jones oversaw the design process. “The Asia-shaped structure alone covers an area of 27,000m2,” Jones told CW.

It has not yet been decided what the structures will house. “They could accommodate a retail element, or educational elements, or a combination of elements,” Jones added.

He stressed that once the location had been finalised and a contractor had been appointed, the build time of the project would be minimal, and would hinge upon external requirements.

“The build-time will depend on what the Abu Dhabi Municipality come up with from an infrastructure point of view,” he said.

Oliver stressed that the project complied with sustainable construction principles. “It is quite sustainable as it is,” he said.

“We have got to cool it as you do with any [development] around here, and we are looking at the potential for using wind turbines to supply power.”

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