Dramatic Abu Dhabi Hotel Moving Forward

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One of the more dramatic hotel proposals in the U.A.E. is one step closer to becoming a reality.

The design for 39-story Fairmont Abu Dhabi calls for an Arabian-themed hotel complex built around a giant arch. The site for the hotel is on the Abu Dhabi breakwater, near the Marina Mall, which would make it one of the emirate's most visible landmarks.   

This week Dubai-listed Drake & Scull International announced it has won a Dh233 million ($63.4 million) contract to complete the mechanical, electrical and plumbing work for the hotel, the latest sign that the project may actually be built. 

The contract was awarded by Dubai-listed construction company Arabtec, which earlier this year won the Dh1 billion ($272.2 million) construction contract for the 563-room hotel, which will also include 249-apartments. The scheme for the 178,000-square-meter complex is owned by Abu Dhabi developer National Investment Corporation, which also owns Marina Mall.

The elaborate design has been compared to the Atlantis in Dubai.

"The hotel will be one of the most luxurious hotels in Abu Dhabi by 2016," Abdullah Al Saadi, the managing director of the National Investment Corporation, told the National. "Our expectations are based on facts that derive from the hotel's unique design that will constitute an architectural addition for Abu Dhabi."

The scheme includes 13 restaurants and cafes and 1,394 parking spaces, the paper reports. 

Drake & Scull will start working on the site immediately and is scheduled to finish all mechanical, electrical and pummeling works by June 2015 for the project.

The concept for the project was designed by Abu Dhabi-based Dewan Architect and Engineers.