UAE Business: Besix consortium in financial close for Abu Dhabi school PPP – Gulf Digital News

UAE Business: Besix consortium in financial close for Abu Dhabi school PPP – Gulf Digital News

A consortium led by global infrastructure major Besix with Plenary, a leading independent long-term investor, developer, and manager of public infrastructure, as its partner, has announced the successful financial close of the Zayed City Schools PPP.

This UAE's first public-private partnership in the field of school infrastructure, Zayed City Schools PPP is a pioneering project paving the way for private sector participation in the development of the country's social infrastructure.

The project was awarded to the Besix-Plenary consortium by the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) in collaboration with Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK).

It covers a greenfield plot for each of the three new schools across Zayed City, a 4,900-hectare construction project being built 7 km inland from Abu Dhabi Island, between Mohamed Bin Zayed City and the Abu Dhabi International Airport.

As per the deal, the consortium will be responsible for the financing, design, procurement, construction, commissioning and operations and maintenance of the three school campuses for a 20-year period.

According to Besix, the construction on site will begin later this year and is set for completion in August 2024.

The school buildings will be designed and built with high sustainability objectives, complying with the Estidama Pearl 2. These will be low-energy