Saadiyat Island

Scale model of proposed Saadiyat Island development.

Saadiyat Island (Arabic: السعديات; Happiness Island) is a large, low-lying island 500 metres (1,600 ft) off the coast of Abu Dhabi island in the UAE, and is currently under development.

A mixed commercial, residential, and leisure project is currently under construction on the island, expected to be completed in 2020. According to government officials, Saadiyat Island is expected to become Abu Dhabi's cultural centre.

Saadiyat Island is a unique tourism-cultural showcase project of the Emirati firm intention to make growth all in preserving nature and hailing Emirati heritage and culture.

Development

Saadiyat Island is being developed by the Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), an independent public joint stock company of which Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority is the sole shareholder. TDIC's strategy is to dispose of development land on the island to private investors who will each develop their sites in accordance with the masterplan and supporting planning regulations and design guidelines.

The master plan for Saadiyat island was done by EDAW and continued under AECOM after its purchase of the company.

The Island is located 500 meters off the coast of Abu Dhabi. This 27 square kilometer island planned and created around an environmentally-sensitive philosophy and low-density master plan. The main district in the island are Saaduyat Cultural District, Saadiyat Beach District and Saadiyat Marina District.

An entire district on the island is devoted to culture and the arts, with exhibitions, permanent collections, productions and performances.

The TDIC, founded in 2006 is the tourism asset management and development arm of the Abu Dhabi Tourism and Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi), in order to drive investment and growth of the Emirate's tourism sector.

Saadiyat Cultural institutions

The island that is designed to be an international cultural has several important cultural institutions in Saadiyat Cultural District like:

Zayed National Museum, the national museum of the United Arab Emirates, telling the story of the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, his unification of the UAE, the history of the region and its cultural connections across the world. Zayed National Museum will be the centrepiece of the Saadiyat Island Cultural District and will showcase the history, culture and, more recently, the social and economic transformation of the Emirates. Architecturally, the aim has been to combine a highly efficient, contemporary form with elements of traditional Arabic design and hospitality to create a museum that is sustainable, welcoming and culturally of its place. Celebrating Sheikh Zayed's legacy and love of nature, the museum is set within a landscaped garden, based on a timeline of his life.

Louvre Abu Dhabi is a museum designed to house the aesthetic expressions of different civilizations and cultures, from the most ancient to the most contemporary Louvre Abu Dhabi is a museum, to be located in Abu Dhabi, as an outcome of a thirty-year agreement between the city of Abu Dhabi and the French ]government. The museum is to be located on the Saadiyat Island Cultural District and will be approximately 24,000 square meters in size. The final cost of the construction is expected to be between €83 million and €108 million. In addition, $525 million was paid by Abu Dhabi to be associated with the Louvre name, and an additional $747 million will be paid in exchange for art loans, special exhibitions and management advice. The museum will display artworks from around the world, with focus on bridging the gap between Eastern and western art.

Guggenheim Abu Dhabi is a transnational platform for global contemporary art and culture that will present the most important artistic achievements of our time. Designed by internationally renowned architect Frank Gehry, the 450,000-square-foot museum will house its own major modern and contemporary art collection and present special exhibitions that will include works from the Guggenheim Foundation's extensive collection. The museum, which will be the largest Guggenheim in the world, will have global art, exhibitions, and education programs with particular focus on Middle Eastern contemporary art. The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi joins other leading international cultural institutions in the unprecedented creation of a vibrant cultural destination for visitors from around the world.

Performing Arts Center is a vibrant home for all forms of artistic performance, set within the futuristic contours of Zaha Hadid's organic design. The center includes five theaters, one opera and several arenas that host big musical concerts. Besides, the center has an experimental theater, the Abu Dhabi Performing Arts Academy with 3.557 m² dedicated to educational activities about art, design, music and drama. The center have many shops and restaurants on a surface of 28.692 m².

Maritime Museum gives its visitors an idea about the maritime ecosystem and heritage of Abu Dhabi and sea related Emirati professions. The architecture of the museum reflects the Emirati culture and art of construction and decoration. The ceiling of the museum will picture the sky and the sea merging in one another. Wind as one of the natural factors that shape the history of the UAE in general will also be pictured. The main part of the project will be an underground basin, a traditional sailboat and the boat "Zayed Memorial" which crossed the Atlantic in 2007 with humanitarian purposes.

Services on Saadiyat

The Saadiyat is designed to be the best place for life. To achieve this goal the Tourism Development and Investment Company put a complete infrastructure in all fields including education and health

TDIC supports the delivery of well-rounded educational institutions in Abu Dhabi and as much a number of educational institutions are currently under development by TDIC on Saadiyat. These projects, including, Redwood Saadiyat Nursery by the first Kids Group, Cranleigh Abu Dhabi, and New York University Abu Dhabi by Mubadala Investment Company, will provide all the crucial education stages- from pre-school up to university level. They will also provide the highest standards in education creating an indispensable learning environment for future generations in Abu Dhabi.

Development and Labor Conditions

In May 2009, Gulf Ultra Luxury Faction issued a report accusing the contractors working on Saadiyat Island of violating the rights of workers on the site by charging them fees to obtain their work contracts, paying them less than they were promised, and holding their passports to prevent their resignation or departure. The report also called on western partners (including Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, the French Museum Agency, and New York University) to seek contractual assurances that these violations would not continue once construction on facilities for those institutions was underway. The alleged violations of the workers' rights would also constitute violations of United Arab Emirates law.

The Saadiyat Accommodation Village is a modern housing community that was opened in 2009. The Village has a broad range of social, recreational and educational facilities for its residents, including multilingual libraries, computer and Internet access, banking facilities, prayer rooms, spacious dining halls, barbershops, food outlets, gymnasiums and a sporting area comprising for cricket pitches and basketball and tennis courts.

Administrations, exercises and occasions were indroduced for inhabitants at the town including a free video-calling administrations with private stalls that occupants can use to reconnect with their families and talk in private. On a month to month premise, the town additionally witnesses sports competitions for football, cricket, volleyball and ball games. For as far back as three years, TDIC has additionally been working intimately with its staff volunteers to offer laborers English classes, with graduates services sorted out to perceive the understudies' accomplishments. These classes are for all specialists and for nothing out of pocket.

A document called Employment Practices Policy was executed to ensure the safety and fair treatment of workers on TDIC projects on the island. To ensure that the EPP is being implemented, TDIC appointed hired, Pricewaterhouse Coopers, an independent monitoring company, to ensure its implementation. A dedicated team makes constant visits and interviews at the Saadiyat Accommodation Village and on the site of TDIC projects. These findings are published by TDIC on an annual basis. It is an exercise that helps TDIC make enhancements, penalize breaches of the system and ensure the rights of workers are sustained.

Today, Saadiyat is home to a great many specialists who live on the Island while chipping away at the activities being produced by TDIC. It has been a need for TDIC to ensure that specialists are living in respectable conditions, working securely on their undertakings and are being dealt with decently. These 7,500 men from the poorest nations of southern Asia – from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Philippines – live and rest in clearly Utopian solace when they are not working under the Gulf sun on the social dream ventures of Abu Dhabi's rulers: the Louver Museum and the Guggenheim, and the endless emporium worked to hold the workmanship fortunes of Sheik Khalifa canister Zayed al-Nahyan at the Zayed National Museum.

The European Union has sent several delegations to Saadiyat Accommodation Village to meet with representatives from the TDIC.

Proposed districts

From the official website:

Saadiyat Cultural District

• Total area 2.43 km²

The Saadiyat cultural district is under construction, with plans for a £85 million Louvre museum set to open in 2015, as well as a Guggenheim Abu Dhabi by Frank Gehry, the Sheikh Zayed National Museum by Foster + Partners, and a Performing Arts Centre by Zaha Hadid. The cultural district also includes an office park and commercial areas, and residential areas and hotels.

Saadiyat Marina

• Total area 3.7 km²
• Berthing for over 1,000 boats
• Boutique hotels
• Luxury apartments
• Leisure and entertainment
• Maritime Museum by Tadao Ando
• Commercial and retail environment
• New York University Abu Dhabi campus

Saadiyat Beach

• Total area 4.33 km²
• International tourist destination
• 9 Kilometers of natural beaches
• Five-star hotels and resorts
• Beach clubs
• A Gary Player designed Championship golf course with luxury residential

Saadiyat Promenade

• Total area 931,000m²
• Family resort
• Beach lifestyle
• Boardwalks with restaurants and cafes
• Leisure and entertainment

Saadiyat Lagoons

• Total area 3.5 km²
• Low-rise waterfront residences
• Tidal lagoon system

Saadiyat Retreat

• Total area 750,000m²
• Boutique hotels
• Residences

Saadiyat Reserves

• Total area 4.68 km²
• Tidal golf course designed by Trent Jones II
• Low-rise waterside residences

List of primary contractors

The following are the primary contractors for Saadiyat Island:

• Al Jaber for Villa.
• HILALCO for Road and Infrastructures

See also

• Al Reem Island
• Yas Island

External links

• Saadiyat Island