The Abu Dhabi government is set to award contracts for the construction of the UAE branch of the iconic Guggenheim Museum by the year-end or early 2017, said a senior official.

The Guggenheim will be located in the emirate’s cultural hub on Saadiyat island, along with a branch of the Louvre opening late this year and the national Zayed museums, Ali Majed Al Mansoori, chairman of the Department of Economic Development, said in an interview with Bloomberg.

The state-owned Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) is developing a cultural district in Abu Dhabi which will house these facilities.

Like other major oil exporters in the region, Abu Dhabi authorities slashed spending when crude prices plummeted below $30 a barrel.

The belt-tightening measures drew the attention of the International Monetary Fund, which said last month that the emirate, home to the world’s second-largest sovereign wealth fund, can afford a more gradual fiscal consolidation.

Abu Dhabi’s economic growth will rebound next year as the richest sheikhdom of the UAE revives delayed projects, stated Al Mansoori.

“The worst is behind us,” said Al Mansoori, who is also a member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council, the sheikhdom’s top decision-making body. “Our budget is still strong. The majority of projects are still there and there are other smaller projects which are moving. The economy is moving,” he noted.

Last year was “a challenge”, Al Mansoori said, resulting in dismissals at several government companies.

Etihad Rail, the developer and operator of the UAE’s $11-billion rail network, slashed about 30 per cent of its workforce. Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) made 2,000 expatriate employees redundant and plans to cut 3,000 more jobs this year, taking the total to nearly 10 per cent of its staff, the Meed trade magazine reported May 16, citing industry officials.

However, Al Mansoori said these lost jobs will be absorbed by other parts of the economy, including the branch of the Louvre.

“Our workforce is moving from one place to another place,” he stated.-Bloomberg