A Belgian construction and real estate company has been awarded a contract to build the Guggenheim Museum in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The contract worth €793 million, including all construction work except for the already-completed foundations, was awarded to Six Construct, a subsidiary of Brussels-Besix and the local construction company Trojan, and is expected to be completed by 2025, according to Belga news agency.
Plans for the latest museum, which will be the fourth and largest museum established by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation alongside those in New York, Venice and Bilbao, were first announced almost 15 years ago.
However, following the announcement of the plans, the project has been plagued by delays, protests regarding workers' conditions and contract cancellations.
Now it has been announced the construction of the museum, which will be built on the island of Saadiyat where the Louvre Abu Dhabi is also located, will start by the end of this year and will last for 44 months until the end of 2025.
The museum will exhibit works by artists from the Arab world as well as world-renowned names, such as Andy Warhol and Jan-Michel Basquiat.
Meanwhile, the complicated design of the building, created by architect Frank Gehry, alone is museum-worthy, as it features an irregular combination of interonnected buildings containing 27 galleries.
The Belgian company has already completed several projects in the UAE including the highest tower in the world, the Burj Khalifa, located in Dubai.
The Brussels Times
