Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), the master developer of tourism, cultural, and residential destinations in Abu Dhabi, is celebrating the placement of the final pilings for Louvre Abu Dhabi. This is a major construction milestone as this landmark Saadiyat Island project progresses on schedule for completion in 2013.

Bauer International of Germany has been working onsite in the Saadiyat Island Cultural District since March 2010 to place 4,536 pilings, a total of nearly 100km of steel and reinforced concrete pile sections, approximately the distance from Abu Dhabi to Dubai.

Lee Tabler, Chief Executive Officer of TDIC, commented: “TDIC is delighted to see piling work reach the completion stage on schedule on Louvre Abu Dhabi. This is a significant moment in the delivery of this monumental institution as we look ahead to completion in 2013. The next key milestone will be the development of the substructure beginning in the last quarter of 2010, along with the main contracts works.”

Designed by Pritzker prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel, this universal museum will be the first internationally renowned institution to be completed within the Saadiyat Island Cultural District, which will also be home to the world’s largest concentration of cultural institutions including the Zayed National Museum and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi museum.

The foundations, which were designed by UK based consulting engineers Buro Happold, implement a complex piling system to ensure that they achieve the prescribed 100 year design life, and to reduce the chances of water intrusion.

These piling works constituted the second sequential contract to be issued for the Louvre Abu Dhabi since its groundbreaking in May 2009. The first package of enabling works, also executed by Bauer International, was completed in January 2010 after 503,000 m3 of earth had been excavated to accommodate the museum basement.

The completion of the Louvre Abu Dhabi piling works coincides with the commencement of the piling works for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, the contract for which is scheduled to start this week. The placement of the 1,400 piles for Guggenheim Abu Dhabi will be carried out by Al Habtoor/HSSG JV and is anticipated to be completed in the first quarter of 2011. The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi concrete works tender package is due out before end of this year, for which announcements will be made in due course.

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