TDIC announces main contractor for Cranleigh Abu Dhabi

The Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC), has awarded the main construction work of its school, Cranleigh Abu Dhabi, which is set to open on Saadiyat Island in 2014, to U.A.E.-based Al Tafseer Contracting and General Maintenance Company. Marking another important milestone in the development of Saadiyat's educational portfolio, this demonstrates TDIC's commitment to develop high level education in Abu Dhabi. Al Tafseer is scheduled to deliver the first phase of Cranleigh Abu Dhabi in time for the start of the academic school year in 2014, which includes building of the junior and senior schools, the dining halls, and the sports and swimming facilities by the end of July 2014. This comes following the completion of all piling and enabling works on site of the development. Cranleigh Abu Dhabi will be introduced to the Abu Dhabi community during a launch event on November 12th, 2013 at the St. Regis Saadiyat Island Resort, which will showcase Cranleigh's 147 years of educational excellence and what it will be bringing to the Emirate. Cranleigh Abu Dhabi, which is based on the ethos and curriculum of Cranleigh School, a leading UK independent school founded in 1865, will be the first school campus on Saadiyat. Built over seven hectares of land, it will have a capacity to accommodate more than 1,600 students. In addition, it will host co-educational facilities comprising separate Junior and Senior schools with each housing its own classrooms, faculty offices, administration offices, dining hall and library. "I am delighted that our ground-works are completed and that we are now building what will undoubtedly be one of the most impressive school campuses in the country. Admissions will open in November 2013 for children aged three to 14, and we are looking forward to opening our doors to them in September 2014 as scheduled," said Brendan Law, Director of Education at TDIC. Cranleigh Abu Dhabi will be one of the premier educational institutions located on Saadiyat, which include prestigious facilities like New York University Abu Dhabi, scheduled to move to its new island home in 2014, and Redwood Saadiyat Nursery by Kids First Group, due to open by the end of this year, thus providing all educational levels from pre-school to university on the island. Located next to Manarat Al Saadiyat and the U.A.E. Pavilion in the Saadiyat Cultural District, Cranleigh Abu Dhabi will also offer boarding facilities - a first for the emirate. Various boarding arrangements in purpose-built houses - separate for males and females - will be offered, including full-boarding as well as individualised day and weekly boarding options. Cranleigh Abu Dhabi's first-class facilities will complement the refined nature of every project on Saadiyat, including the surrounding world-class educational and cultural institutions, such as the inspirational museums designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architects which will open starting with the Louvre Abu Dhabi in 2015, followed by the Zayed National Museum in 2016 and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi in 2017.