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(Corrects to show Louvre Abu Dhabi uses the brand name of the Paris museum but is not a branch)
By Stanley Carvalho
ABU DHABI, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The official opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi museum has been postponed to 2017 due to pending construction work, the latest setback for the long-delayed project, three sources said on Thursday.
The museum, which is licensed to use the name of the famous Paris institution, and two other planned museums are part of the oil-rich emirate's wider push to diversify its economy away from oil, investing billions of dollars in tourism, industry and infrastructure.
Louvre Abu Dhabi was originally scheduled to open in 2012 but that target was pushed back to the second half of 2016, the chairman of state-owned Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) told Reuters last year.
TDIC, the developer, was scheduled to hand over the $650 million museum to Abu Dhabi's Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA) in mid-2016.
"First, the museum buildings have to be completed and delivered and then the opening (must take place), which is now some time in 2017," a source close to the project said.
"There is some work to be done - interiors, testing which are critical as the commissioning takes place."
Two other sources confirmed the opening is postponed to an unspecified date next year. All three sources declined to be identified as details about the project are private.
A spokeswoman of TDIC declined to comment.
A building boom in the United Arab Emirates has created bottlenecks as some construction firms scramble to find labour, supplies and financing to complete huge backlogs of work.
TDIC is developing a cultural district in Abu Dhabi that will house the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and Zayed National Museum.
The Zayed National Museum was scheduled to open this year and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi in 2017, but contracts are yet to be awarded for them.
Construction of Louvre Abu Dhabi was awarded to an Arabtec-led joint venture with Construction San Jose SA and Oger Abu Dhabi LLC in 2013. Designed by prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel, Louvre Abu Dhabi's dome is supposed to offer museum visitors an enchanting "rain of light" effect.
(Reporting By Stanley Carvalho; Editing by Tom Heneghan) ((stanley.carvalho@thomsonreuters.com; + 9712 6444431; Reuters Messaging: stanley.carvalho.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
By Stanley Carvalho
ABU DHABI, Nov 3 (Reuters) - The official opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi museum has been postponed to 2017 due to pending construction work, the latest setback for the long-delayed project, three sources said on Thursday.
The museum, which is licensed to use the name of the famous Paris institution, and two other planned museums are part of the oil-rich emirate's wider push to diversify its economy away from oil, investing billions of dollars in tourism, industry and infrastructure.
Louvre Abu Dhabi was originally scheduled to open in 2012 but that target was pushed back to the second half of 2016, the chairman of state-owned Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) told Reuters last year.
TDIC, the developer, was scheduled to hand over the $650 million museum to Abu Dhabi's Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA) in mid-2016.
"First, the museum buildings have to be completed and delivered and then the opening (must take place), which is now some time in 2017," a source close to the project said.
"There is some work to be done - interiors, testing which are critical as the commissioning takes place."
Two other sources confirmed the opening is postponed to an unspecified date next year. All three sources declined to be identified as details about the project are private.
A spokeswoman of TDIC declined to comment.
A building boom in the United Arab Emirates has created bottlenecks as some construction firms scramble to find labour, supplies and financing to complete huge backlogs of work.
TDIC is developing a cultural district in Abu Dhabi that will house the Louvre Abu Dhabi, Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and Zayed National Museum.
The Zayed National Museum was scheduled to open this year and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi in 2017, but contracts are yet to be awarded for them.
Construction of Louvre Abu Dhabi was awarded to an Arabtec-led joint venture with Construction San Jose SA and Oger Abu Dhabi LLC in 2013. Designed by prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel, Louvre Abu Dhabi's dome is supposed to offer museum visitors an enchanting "rain of light" effect.
(Reporting By Stanley Carvalho; Editing by Tom Heneghan) ((stanley.carvalho@thomsonreuters.com; + 9712 6444431; Reuters Messaging: stanley.carvalho.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
