The N.V. BESIX S.A. Sharjah Branch (BESIX) – Plenary Group (Plenary) consortium to announced that it has achieved financial close of the Zayed City Schools PPP on the 5 July 2022.
This is the UAE’s first public-private partnership in the field of school infrastructure, a pioneering project paving the way for private sector participation in the development of the country’s social infrastructure.
The public-private partnership project was awarded to the BESIX – Plenary consortium by the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), in collaboration with the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK).
It covers the financing, design, procurement, construction, commissioning, and 20-year operations and maintenance of three new state-of-the-art school campuses with a total capacity of 5,360 students in Zayed City, Abu Dhabi.
The debt provider group comprises financial institutions HSBC, Intesa Sanpaolo and The Norinchukin Bank. They provide senior debt financing with a long-term maturity.
World-class school campuses
The campus buildings have a dual priority of academic excellence and high environmental performance.
The school campuses will feature state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, allowing for world-class, high-end education.
The buildings will be designed and built with high sustainability objectives, complying with the Estidama Pearl 2. The buildings will be low-energy buildings with a focus on usage and consumptions efficiency, and the partners will give priority to the use of locally produced building materials.
The Project covers a greenfield plot for each of the three new schools across Zayed City, a 4,900-hectare construction project being built seven kilometres inland from Abu Dhabi Island, between Mohamed Bin Zayed City and the Abu Dhabi International Airport.
Construction on site is still expected to start in 2022 and be completed in August 2024, with schools opening in September 2024.
