The Municipality of Abu Dhabi city has announced a tender for investors to participate in three community centres projects through a public private partnership (PPP) in the UAE capital.

The projects will be developed on a build, operation and transfer (BOT) basis. Qualified developers will be granted rights to utilise municipality land through a musataha agreement (an Islamic instrument to benefit from a piece of land) for a period of 30 years to develop and operate the community centres.

The structure in Yas Island will span almost 22,000sqm, and the one in Mohammed Bin Zayed City will be around 26,000sq.m. The community centre in Al Shamkha will be around 23,000sqm, and all centres will dedicate almost 6,000sqm to retail outlets. Additional facilities, such as restaurants, banking and gyms are also expected to be built in the centres.

Part of a strategic plan to provide convenient access to services and facilities, the move by Abu Dhabi Muncipality is expected to enhance living standards across the city following approval by the Abu Dhabi Executive Council.

The tender process is the latest in a series of community centre developments the authority is launching across a range of  neighbourhoods and districts that will be delivered in partnership with private firms using a build-operate-transfer (BOT) model.