The main structural work of the AED500 million Phase 2 development of the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, which claims to be “the most modern exhibition centre in the world”, is complete and the main shell of the building is now in place.

Over the next few weeks, glazing, marble and other key elements will begin to be installed. Some 2,300 highly skilled workmen are currently employed on the project in a concentrated 24-hour programme of development, with construction scheduled for completion in September this year.

“Despite testing conditions within the regional construction industry, construction on Phase 2 has progressed on schedule throughout the entire development,” said Simon Horgan, chief executive of ADNEC. “This is a credit to all involved.”

Horgan stressed that the speed of development has been credited to the company’s highly successful partnering programme, which has been adopted in all its development initiatives. "The partnering programme places all parties involved in the project as a single team to immediately tackle and overcome issues that may arise,” he said. “ADNEC pioneered this non-confrontational approach to building on Phase 1 with a huge amount of success; it is a philosophy that is central to all of our development projects.”

ADNEC, lead contractor Arabtec, project manager MACE and engineering and architectural consultant RMJM have employed a specialist team of 12 people from Greece to work on Phase 2. RINOL Hellas SA is credited for significantly speeding up the build process by ensuring better quality and technical superiority of the building project.

On completion of Phase 2, ADNEC will be the largest exhibition centre in the Middle East, with over 55,000 square metres of fully interconnected exhibition space spread across 12 halls. ADNEC has been developed as the centrepiece project of the AED8 billion Capital Centre project, a fully integrated community development that is considered a strategic element of the Abu Dhabi 2030 vision.