A new Islamic-style air-conditioned bazaar is to be built in Abu Dhabi city to replace its monumental old suq, according to a news report.

It said the Abu Dhabi Municipality has awarded the new market project to the Arab Engineering Bureau (AEB), a major multi-disciplinary consulting firm. Its Abu Dhabi branch, Al Arabi International Engineering Bureau, is carrying out the design and supervision work.

The new marketplace, in the heart of the city centre, will be almost a replica of the old suq.
Owners of the more than 700 shops have been given an extra three-month notice to vacate the place by the end of February before bulldozers come in. A two-month demolition and clean-up operation has been planned to pave the way for the new construction, which will begin in May and the project will be completed within 18 months, the report added.

'The project will be completed within 18 months and all original tenants will be allowed to return to their shops in the new market,' said Al Arabi International Engineering Bureau manager Zaky Abdul Rahman Zaky.
'It will have underground parking to solve the problem of the lack of parking for cars. It will also contain all kinds of services that may be required for such a development such as mosques, restaurants, banks, public toilets, entertainment centres, tunnels, green areas and other facilities.'