ABU DHABI // Mubadala, the investment arm of the Abu Dhabi Government, announced yesterday that it had secured $1 billion (Dh3.67bn) of financing for the new Zayed University campus, which is to be built on 75 hectares in the new Capital District. The campus, which is scheduled for completion in 2011, will accommodate up to 6,000 students and staff. Eleven international and regional banks have signed on to finance the project through a 10-year package.
They include the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and First Gulf Bank. Abu Dhabi's Al Hilal Bank provided the Islamic tranche. "The new Zayed University campus is a major part of Abu Dhabi Government's strategy to create a world-class education system for the people of the UAE," Khaldoon al Mubarak, the chief executive of Mubadala, said. "The closing of this finance package is an important milestone for the project and a mark of confidence the regional and international finance community has in the infrastructure projects Mubadala is developing for Abu Dhabi."
The public private partnership (PPP) model is being used for strategic infrastructure projects that support Abu Dhabi's Economic Vision 2030. The Zayed campus PPP is the second major project Mubadala is developing with the Abu Dhabi Education Council, following the Paris-Sorbonne University PPP project on Reem Island. klewis@thenational.ae