Abu Dhabi The Louvre, the Guggenheim, and the Zayed National Museum on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi remain on track and will be delivered on schedule, a senior tourism official said yesterday.

Felix Reinberg, Project Director for Museums at Abu Dhabi's Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) developer of the Dh100 billion Saadiyat Island said the Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Zayed National Museum should be ready to open in September 2013 and the Guggenheim Museum will open in December 2013.

"[The] Louvre's design is complete and the main contract for it will be issued Thursday. "Regarding Guggenheim, the sea wall is under construction and the piling work will be tendered in April. The main contract will be issued in the first quarter of 2011," Reinberg said.

All systems go

He said the enabling works have been completed for the Zayed National Museum.

"Piling work, which started last month, is underway. The design will be completed in May and the main contract for the Zayed National Museum will be tendered in July this year," Reinberg added.

Saadiyat Island is at the forefront of Abu Dhabi's vision to become a globally recognised capital city. It covers 27 square km and will be finished in phases in 2020.

More than 160,000 people are expected to live there upon completion.

The island is made up of seven districts: Saadiyat Cultural District, Saadiyat Marina, Saadiyat Beach, Saadiyat Promenade, Saadiyat Lagoons, Saadiyat Reserve and Saadiyat Retreat. A Gary Player designed golf course is also one of the highlights of the island.

Yesterday, high profile dignitaries, including Minister of Labour Saqr Gobash Saeed Gobash and Shaikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister of Foreign Trade, toured Saadiyat Island to assess the progress of the developments. They also toured Saadiyat Construction Village, now home to more than 4,500 construction workers.

The TDIC announced the official inauguration of the Manarat Al Saadiyat visitors and art exhibition centre on Saadiyat Island by its chairman Shaikh Sultan Bin Tahnoun Al Nahyan on Monday.

Approximately 25 hotels are in the planning stages on Saadiyat Island.

TDIC Chief Executive Officer Lee Tabler said that the company could invest as much as Dh40 billion in the development of Saadiyat Island, and sub-contraactors are expected to pump in another Dh60 billion.

TDIC is an independent company of which the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority is the sole shareholder.