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The stunning feat of engineering is set to inject the United Arab Emirates with a dose of high culture, attracting millions of tourists from around the globe. 

But human rights campaigners report that workers at the Saadiyat Island site, where the impressive Guggenheim and Louvre buildings are being constructed are being mistreated.

In an 82-page report, Human Rights Watch acknowledged that Emirati authorities had taken 'positive steps' to improve working conditions for the mainly South Asian workers in Abu Dhabi. 

Workers and journalists at the Louvre museum construction site on Abu Dhabi's Saadiyat Island

But the organisation claims that employers are withholding wages, confiscating passports and housing workers in substandard accommodation.

It interviewed 113 current and former labourers who had worked on the project during 2013 and 2014, according to the report.

All of those interviewed said employers held their passports and did not reimburse them for recruiting fees they paid and some said they were not paid salaries for months, faced arrest and deportation for striking, and were housed in 'cramped and unsanitary housing.'

Saadiyat Island is the brainchild of Tourism Development & Investment Company (TDIC), of which Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority is the sole shareholder. 

The whole project, a dream holiday island complete with beaches, promenades, luxury hotels, restaurants and shops, is due to open in 2020.

TDIC immediately rejected the report's findings, calling them 'unfounded' and 'outdated and based on unknown methodologies'.

The Saadiyat Island master plan, with an imagining of the impressive Guggenheim structure in the foreground

'We have established a comprehensive Employment Practices Policy (EPP) outlining the standards required from the companies working on our projects, and laying out penalties for those found to be in breach of any aspect,' it said. 

The company added that it had set up a housing facility and been praised by many, including British members of parliament, senior foreign diplomats and museum partners, and all workers have access to their passports and 99 percent are provided with medical insurance.

Plans for a museum were originally announced in Paris in 2007 and an opening date of 2012 was suggested. But the £405 million 'floating' art gallery, is finally due to open this year. It will cover 64,000 square metres including 9,200 square metres of art space.

Human Rights Watch say the United Arab Emirates have not done enough to end the exploitation of migrant workers at the Saadiyat Island construction site

Reports of worker mistreatment first surfaced in 2009, with Gulf Ultra Luxury Faction issuing a report accusing contractors of poor pay and holding passports to prevent them leaving the country. 

Human Rights Watch say the United Arab Emirates have not done enough to end the exploitation of migrant workers. 

It said that while only 'a small percentage' of workers were subjected to abuse, the prestigious foreign institutions involved should demand commitments by the United Arab Emirates to protect workers and compensate them for mistreatment.

'NYU, the Louvre, and the Guggenheim should surely understand by now that they can't blindly accept the UAE authorities' assurances that workers' rights are being respected,' HRW's Sarah Leah Whitson told AFP news agency.

The Louvre and Guggenheim museums are set attract millions of tourists from around the globe

'They need to exert their influence much more forcefully and demand much more in return for their presence on Saadiyat Island.'

In a joint statement, the Louvre and Agence France-Museums said the HRW report contained 'known elements'. They assured that 'the French side is very concerned about the social compliance at the site of the Louvre Abu Dhabi since the beginning of the project'.

The Solomon R Guggenheim Foundation added that  'areas for improvement remain'.