Khalifa City School

The Khalifa City School – Zayed City Schools PPP augmentation project was procured using an augmentation procurement framework within the existing Zayed City Schools public-private partnership (PPP) project.

Led by the Abu Dhabi Investment Office (ADIO), the design and use of this framework to procure school infrastructure marks a first for the region.

The augmentation comprises the design, build, finance, and 18-year operation and maintenance of a new campus, which will accommodate 3,380 students in Khalifa City.

Khalifa City School comprises more than 45,000 sqm of gross internal floor area, and includes areas and facilities that are designed for local community use outside of school times – such as the theatre, swimming pool and multipurpose hall, ensuring the school delivers expansive benefits that span beyond its immediate sphere of students and educators.

Early works commenced in July 2025, and the school is scheduled to be completed in time for the 2026 academic year, building on the success of the original Zayed City Schools project, which delivered three state-of-the-art schools in 2024.

The need for a public school in Khalifa City arose to support the increase in the local population:

1. Kindergarten (mixed) for 500 student capacity

2. Cycle 1 (mixed) for 960 student capacity

3. Cycle 2 (boys and girls) for 960 student capacity

4. Cycle 3 (boys and girls) for 960 student capacity

The final design of the school will encourage and support a variety of individual, small group and large group learning models. The school will contain resources and spaces that will enhance the delivery of personalised educational programs and services to all students, encourage student‐to‐student, adult‐to‐student, and adult‐to‐adult collaboration.

The new school will be a place of culture and tradition that reaches out to communities as multi-functional local facilities that encourage parents and families to become partners in the educational process. This new school will embrace quality teaching and learning in ways that meet the aspirations of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and its future generations.

The final design will incorporate the most appropriate solutions focusing on aesthetics, functionality, durability, cost effectiveness, sustainability, future expansion and flexibility, and delivering whole life asset management philosophies. The new school will be an asset for the local community and serve as an example to be followed by other government and private facilities in Abu Dhabi.

Innovations

Due to significant demand, the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) required Khalifa City School to be operational by August 2026, a timeline that could not be achieved via a traditional procurement process.

Through meticulous planning and implementation, ADIO developed a specific augmentation framework that enabled the school’s infrastructure to be procured and awarded within a record timeframe of just 12 months, demonstrating ADIO’s commitment to delivering critical infrastructure efficiently and on schedule. This approach aligns with ADIO’s broader efforts to attract and enable investments that support the emirate’s vision for world-class educational infrastructure.

ADIO led the augmentation process in collaboration with the ADEK and the BESIX-Plenary Group consortium. BESIX-Plenary delivered a value-for-money solution, subsequently reaching commercial and financial close.

Together with ADIO, Plenary implemented an innovative ‘structured dialogue process’ that allowed it to work collaboratively to develop the project specifications and design alongside the client, while ensuring contestability in the procurement of the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) and facilities management (FM) components through the conduct of an EPC tender process and a collaborative FM pricing exercise. Equity financing is provided by Plenary (50%) and BESIX (50%), while debt is being provided by leading domestic and international banks.