Masdar commercial building contract awarded soon

Masdar City is aiming to be one of the world?s most sustainable urban development powered by renewable energy.

The director of Masdar City has said that the contract for the project’s first commercial building, the courtyard building, will be awarded within the next month.

Speaking to Construction Week, Alan Frost also confirmed that the next contract award to follow would be for the HQ building and home of IRENA, and that it is currently out to tender.

“Masdar will be built in stages and we propose to learn from every phase and incorporate those learnings as we go,” he said.

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Currently, the project is still in its first phase, which includes the construction of buildings and infrastructure over a 1m m2 area and is due to complete in 2015, dependent on market demand.

Full completion, which will see development over 4 square kilometres, is scheduled for a 2025 date.

Asked how far Masdar City is leading the way on green construction in the Middle East, Frost is confident that the project is, and will continue to make, a significant difference.

“We are already seeing savings of more than 50% for water and energy and we have already contributed to a green supply chain here in the Gulf region which did not exist before Masdar.

“It is a continual process. Technology will continue to improve, some of that will come from contributions by Masdar and its technology partners. But Masdar has and will make a difference.

“It has not been easy. When we started there was no blueprint for what we were doing, and there still isn't. We have pushed the norm in relation to design, infrastructure and transport and will continue to do so.”