Abu Dhabi's Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC) has launched the main tender for the construction of the Louvre Museum on its flagship development Saadiyat Island.
“The main contract works, the dome, mechanical, electrical, is tendered today,” Felix Reinberg, director of projects delivery at TDIC's museum division, told reporters on the sidelines of a tour of the island. Reinberg said the tendering process would close in June.
According to TradeArabia.com, Saadiyat Island (which means the island of happiness), located off the coast of Abu Dhabi, is a USD$27 billion art and culture project that is planned to house spin-offs of the Louvre Museum in Paris and New York's Guggenheim.
TDIC commissioned French architect Jean Nouvel to design the island's Louvre building, which will be shaped like a floating dome. The TDIC had shortlisted between 10 and 20 companies for the construction of the museum.