The Municipality of Abu Dhabi City announces that preparations are in hand for inviting a number of public tenders shortly to develop community markets projects in residential neighborhoods based on the Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model.
The centres will be funded, built and operated through putting them out to tenders for the private sector, as per preset parameters and rules through which the Municipality intends to build a network of community centres.
Undertaking these development ‘&’ investment projects pertaining to activating municipal assets and launching other projects is made in collaboration, partnership and integration with the private sector (PPP) Model, in many tourist, recreational, service and commercial fields.
These projects epitome Abu Dhabi Government’s vision aimed at promoting the integration and cooperation with the private sector, especially with regard to advancing the comprehensive development drive, upgrading public facilities and introducing new projects required by the community in order to provide integrated modern services in a civilised manner in line with the best global standards.
According to the Municipality, the investment ‘&’ development projects’ master plan encompasses the construction of 25 shopping centers in residential districts across the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in order to meet the daily needs of Abu Dhabi city neighborhoods. These centers comprise supermarkets, cafes, and restaurants in addition to outlets for providing community/government services.
The Municipality will soon offer four community centers (Residential District Centers) through public tenders in the following neighborhoods: Bani Yas (EB2_03 Sector), Shawamekh (SHM5 Sector), Samha (Samha East Sector), Nahda (Nahda Askariyah Sector).
The Municipality declared that the residential district center penciled to be constructed in Bani Yas spans an estimated area of about 15,200 square meters, whereas Shawamekh Centre takes up an area of about 15,000 square metres. Samha Centre covers an area of about 17,500 square metres while Nahda Centre is set up over a land plot of 20,000 square metres approximately.
The civic body stated that the said four centers contain a variety of shops, restaurants and cafes, not to mention the community facilities such as health clubs, spas, kids playgrounds, nurseries and adults gyms.
According to the Municipality, these projects are part of Abu Dhabi City’s strategy to develop community-based projects throughout the city, as it aspires to construct a community market network based on the concept of “3-in-1” by the private sector. Each centre consists of three key elements: Community Service Center, Customers Service Center and appropriate Retail Outlets.
In the same context, the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City has worked out a detailed plan to specify the social and economic utilities to necessary for the immediate developing of retail outlets, amusement ‘&’ community service centers in the city of Abu Dhabi. The project will thus include constructing sports ‘&’ educational facilities as well as public services associated with the residential community within the community service center. The project also comprises restaurants, cafes and shops, and high quality entertainment venues, which are crucial in shaping the lifestyle of populace; and providing integrated, public ‘&’ community-based services.
A master plan for community markets has been developed for the entire city of Abu Dhabi, where these projects have been classified per neighborhoods or district according to population density and the size ‘&’ type of services required by the population. Each neighborhood center serves about 6,000 to 10,000 people, with a gross floor area of about 7,000 square meters. The district center, on the other hand, serves 30,000 to 40,000 people with a gross floor area of about 21,000 square metres.
The Municipality noted that the community markets initiative reflects the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City’s commitment to prop up the level of community services and provide all resources to ensure a decent living for residents, measuring up to world-class standards and top-class specifications.
