A consortium led by global infrastructure major Besix with Plenary, a leading independent long-term investor, developer and manager of public infrastructure, as its partner, has announced the successful financial close of the Zayed City Schools PPP.

The UAE's first public-private partnership in the field of school infrastructure, Zayed City Schools PPP is a pioneering project paving the way for private sector participation in the development of the country's social infrastructure.

The project was awarded to the Besix-Plenary consortium by the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO) in collaboration with Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK).

It covers a greenfield plot for each of the three new schools across Zayed City, a 4,900-hectare project being built 7 km inland from Abu Dhabi Island, between Mohamed Bin Zayed City and the Abu Dhabi International Airport.

As per the deal, the consortium will be responsible for the financing, design, procurement, construction, commissioning and operations and maintenance of the three school campuses for a 20-year period.

According to Besix, construction will begin on site later this year and is due for completion in August 2024.

The school buildings will be designed and built with high sustainability objectives, complying with the Estidama Pearl 2 rating. These will be low-energy buildings with a focus on usage and consumption efficiency, and the partners will give priority to the use of locally produced building materials, it stated.

The institutions, located in Zayed City, Abu Dhabi, will have a total capacity of 5,360 students when they open for the academic year in September 2024.