Latest posts by Martin Moodie (see all)
The Moodie Report interim bureaus down the years have had some pretty spectacular views and this has to be right up there with the best of them.
It’s early morning in Abu Dhabi and from my 7th floor window at the Fairmont Hotel I have a stunning outlook towards the magnificent Sheikh Zayed Mosque (below).
I arrived into the ever-burgeoning UAE capital last night to attend the Retail Marketing Launch of Abu Dhabi Airports’ Midfield Terminal, one of the world’s most eagerly awaited airports.
The Moodie Report is the only media here. My colleague Dermot Davitt is moderating today’s proceedings, while I cover the event journalistically. This month’s Trinity Forum in Bangkok may have had to be postponed but it feels like most of its audience have come to Abu Dhabi instead. Last night the restaurants at the Fairmont were packed with executives from numerous retailers, food & beverage operators and brands, all drawn by the commercial opportunity the Midfield Terminal will offer.
At today’s Retail Marketing Launch, The Design Solution owner Robbie Gill will join senior Abu Dhabi Airports executives (including Commercial Director Mohammed Al Bulooki and CEO Tony Douglas) in outlining the vision, the detail and the challenge that commercial operators need to embrace at the new terminal (renderings pictured below).
At stake are some 100 RFPs covering around 250 contracts and 35,000sq m of commercial space. But it’s the quality that is promised, not the scale, that is most exciting. I can’t wait for it to get started.
