The developer of a branch of the Louvre in Abu Dhabi has launched its search for a contractor to build the museum following a series of delays.
The state-owned Tourism Development and Investment Company placed an ad in local newspapers on Sunday seeking bidders for the main construction work on the spin-off of the famous Paris museum.
The Louvre is the first of several high-profile projects, including a branch of the Guggenheim, planned for the $27bn Saadiyat Island development.
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Its future was called into question when TDIC scrapped a major construction contract in October.
The TDIC said in January that the Louvre Abu Dhabi would now open in 2015 while Abu Dhabi's branch of New York's Guggenheim, will open in 2017.
It also said the Zayed National Museum will open in 2016. All the three museums were originally scheduled to open between 2013 and 2014.
Abu Dhabi, capital of the UAE, has plans to invest billions of dollars in tourism, infrastructure and industry to diversify its economy away from oil.
Across the oil-rich state, which accounts for more than half of the UAE's economy, government-backed real estate, commercial and tourism projects, many conceived during the boom years of 2003-2008, are under review and in some cases being delayed or put on hold.
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