The Union Oasis project in Dubai, UAE, has taken a step forward with the city’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) issuing pre-qualification documents to companies interested in developing the five mixed-use towers above the Union Square metro station, a report said.

The call for bidders to register for the project kick-starts what will be the first scheme to be completed under Dubai’s new public-private partnership regime, which is set to take effect on November 19, The National said in its report.

Under the Union Oasis project, the towers will be built on a site above one of Dubai’s busiest metro station. Last year, about nine million passengers used the station, which is one of the main interchanges for the Green and Red lines, it said.

The towers, which will occupy 14,662 sq m of a total plot size of 37,885 sq m, are likely to include a mix of commercial, office, residential, retail and hospitality space, stated the report.

These will be connected at podium level and can consist of four basement levels, a ground and mezzanine level, and up to 20 storeys above ground, it added.

The public-private partnership being adopted for Union Oasis is expected to be the first in a series of projects that will tap private sources of finance for infrastructure improvements.

The last date for project registration is December 3, said the report.

The RTA will then issue the tenders with a bidding deadline for next April and the winner will be selected the following month.