Delayed Guggenheim Abu Dhabi project now set for 2022 opening

The much delayed project to build a satellite of New York’s Guggenheim museum in Abu Dhabi is now “on track (and) on budget” to open in 2022.

In a recent interview with Euronews, Richard Armstrong, Director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and Museum in New York, advised “we are on track, we are on budget and we are looking forward to the commencement of the building construction soon.

“I reckon it will be three and half or four years (to build), it is a big building and parts of it are quite complex and it should take a little bit of time to put together.”

In an online update, Euronews added that Armstrong later went on to say that the museum should be completed by around 2022.

The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi project is part of a series of cultural attractions being developed on Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island including the Louvre Abu Dhabi (which opened in November 2017) and the Zayed National Museum (on which construction has yet to begin).

The Guggenheim Abu Dhabi museum, which has been designed by famed architect Frank Gehry, was originally scheduled to open two years ago while plans for the Zayed National Museum were first announced in 2007, with a design inspired by a falcon’s feathers completed by the British architect Norman Foster.

The museums, along with the development of the Formula One racetrack and attractions of Yas Island, are part of the oil-rich Emirate’s plan to diversify its economy away from oil and into tourism.

Speaking last month when announcing an international campaign to promote the Emirate as a global tourist attraction, Saif Ghobash, Undersecretary at the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi confirmed that major Saadiyat Island projects including the Zayed National Museum and the Guggenheim were still in progress.

He advised “all I can say now is that with Louvre Abu Dhabi ... completed, all the other projects have been put into full gear."

The Dh500 million (US$136 million) promotional campaign aims to raise awareness about Abu Dhabi’s new attractions such as Louvre Abu Dhabi, Qasr Al Hosn and Warner Bros. World, in the run-up to Dubai’s Expo 2020.

It will also be used to build Abu Dhabi’s status as a leading cultural destination in the Middle East.

Statistics show 10 million people visited Abu Dhabi last year.

Image: Frank Gehry's design for the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi museum.