Abu Dhabi's Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) has launched a tender competition to build a branch of the Louvre Museum on Saadiyat Island, it was learnt on Tuesday. The expected opening date for the museum’s opening is September 2013. "The main contract works, the dome, mechanical, electrical, is tendered today," Felix Reinberg, director of projects delivery at TIDC’s museum division said.

Saadiyat Island is at the forefront of Abu Dhabi's vision to become a global capital city and will host the largest concentration of cultural museums in the world. Located off the coast of Abu Dhabi, Saadiyat Island is a $27 billion art and culture project that is planned to house spin-offs of the Louvre museum in Paris and New York's Guggenheim. TDIC has commissioned French architect Jean Nouvel to design the island's Louvre building, which will be shaped like a floating dome.