City of the future

Across Abu Dhabi work has started on the mega projects that are set to transform it into one of the most exciting cities in the world by the year 2030. Business Management looks at what the future holds for the UAE capital and profiles five of the biggest developments that are underway.

Any first time visitor to Abu Dhabi today would find it difficult to imagine that the emirate will one day be one of the world's most exciting cities. Unlike Dubai, swathes of the emirate remain untouched by urban sprawl and its relatively low-key skyline contains none of the iconic landmarks associated with its brasher neighbour.

But this is a city that can best be described as a work in progress. Evidence of what the future holds for the emirate can be seen in the construction work underway around the clock to build the foundations for the projects that will transform it. The driver behind these changes is the Abu Dhabi 2030 Urban Structure Framework Plan a 25-year programme of urban evolution aimed at building an economically sustainable city that is able to support a population of up to five million residents. Plan 2030 aims to cement Abu Dhabi's identity as the capital of the UAE but also to make it a global financial, trade and tourism hub. With this in mind, several business, residential and tourist zones have been created, including Central Business District, Khalifa Port and Industrial Zone, the Cultural District, Masdar City and Reem Island and the Capital District – and the base for the UAE's federal government.

The government has also committed to investing around US$100 billion to developing Abu Dhabi's Western Region, which accounts for 83 percent of the emirate's land mass but currentlyl houses just eight percent of its residents.

A long road lies ahead before Abu Dhabi's vision is realised, with many potential obstacles blocking the way, not least the global economic downturn and its effect on the region's property market. But with over US$100 billion-worth of projects underway across the UAE capital, failure is not an option for the developers who are relying on predictions that the emirate's population will grow to at least three million by 2030 and that tourist numbers will have rocketed to 7.9 million a year.

In this article we profile five of the projects that Abu Dhabi is pinning its ambitious hopes on: Masdar City, Yas Island, Saadiyat Island, Al Raha Beach and Al Reem Island.

Saadiyat Island

Developer: TDIC
Date for completion: 2018

Located just 500 metres off the mainland, Saadiyat Island is set to transform Abu Dhabi into one of the cultural capitals of the world. It will feature two of the world's most prestigious cultural landmarks, the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi and the Louvre Abu Dhabi. The latter has been designed by the Pritzker prize-winning architect Jean Nouvel and will be located at the heart of Saadiyat Island's Cultural district. Even more spectacular in design, and the centrepiece of the District, will be the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, which has been designed by Frank Gehry. It is made up of several conical-shaped buildings and incorporates a twist on the UAE's traditional cooling wind towers. The Guggenheim will feature 13,000 square metres of permanent and temporary exhibition space and will be the largest museum in the cultural district. Extensive work has gone into creating a sustainable infrastructure for Saadiyat Island, which includes a storm water drainage system, sewerage systems, electrical grid stations and a water supply and reservoir systems. This will support not only the millions of visitors that are expected to visit the island every year, but also the 160,000 residents that will live there permanently.

The island will be split into six districts; Al Marina, featuring berthing for 1000 boats; the Cultural District with museums and galleries; Saadiyat Park, a mainly residential area with waterfront villas and apartments; Saadiyat Beach, a tourist area with nine kilometres of natural beaches and a golf course designed by Gary Player; South Beach, a family beach resort; and The Wetlands, which will feature a championship golf course and parkland. In total, the project will cost a massive US$27 billion to build and it is expected to attract 1.5 million visitors a year by the time it is completed in 2018.

Masdar City

Developers: Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company
Date for completion: 2016

Masdar City, which is to be build over seven years at a cost of US$20 billion, will be the world's first zero carbon, zero waste city which will be powered entirely by renewable energy.  It will be car free, with its own public transport system and, as the headquarters for internationally renowned green innovators, researchers and developers, will provide a global hub for biotechnology companies.

The development will be home to around 50,000 people and 12,500 businesses. The city will be powered by solar energy and transport will be provided in the form of travel pods, running on magnet tracks. All buildings will use minimal energy and natural air conditioning will be provided by traditional Arabic wind towers. Water will be delivered via a solar powered desalination plant. The city will need a quarter of the power required by an average community of the same size and its water needs will be 60 percent lower. At the heart of the project will be Masdar's headquarters which will be the world's first mixed use positive energy building and will showcase the development's ecological credentials in a building which will be used as a centre for the development of clean technologies. The city will also feature the Masdar Institute which is expected to attract leading environmental researchers and scientists from around the world to develop new clean technologies. Graduate programmes in environmental science will be taught there and campus accommodation will be provided to students. Residents of Masdar City will also be well catered for with open public squares connecting to homes, schools, theatres, restaurants and shops and leafy pedestrian walkways criss-crossing the city. Companies hoping to develop environmental technologies will be located in a separate industrial zone.

The personal rapid transit system, consisting of 3000 electric cars operating on a recyclable lithiumcadmium battery, will transport people around the car-free city. Most of the roadways will be housed in underground tunnels.

The layer of glass that will cover the building's exterior will reflect the heat of the sun whilst allowing for natural light. The north-south orientation of the structure has been designed to help protect inhabitants from the glare of the sun.

The building will use its own wastewater to irrigate several lush gardens situated throughout the complex. In turn, the plants and trees will help provide shade, keep the building cool and absorb carbon dioxide.

Wind towers – one of the building's references to traditional Islamic architecture – will be included to exhaust warm air, help naturally ventilate the building, and bring cool air up through the subterranean levels of the city below.

At 75,000 square feet, the onepiece roof – made up of a steel trellis covered with photovoltaic cells – represents one of the largest solar arrays in the world and will provide enough power to build the rest of the building.

Narrow, canopied streets will provide shade and funnel cooling breezes, reducing the temperature to a manageable 20˚C. Meanwhile, the network of subterranean tunnels will serve as passenger walkways to the underground transit system.

Yas Island

Developer: Aldar Properties
Date for completion: 2014

While Saadiyat Island has been designed to be the cultural heart of the emirate, Yas Island will be its entertainment hub. The 25 square kilometre development off the coast of Abu Dhabi will be a key part of the government's strategy to build its tourism industry. Its main attraction will be Yas Marina Circuit racing track which will play host to the inaugural F1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on November 1. The track will wind its way around Yas Island's landscape and has been designed by Hermann Tike who created Shanghai's main racing circuit. In keeping with the racing theme, Ferrari World Abu Dhabi will be the world's largest indoor theme park and is housed in a building covering 200,000 square metres with a roof designed to look like the body shell of a Ferrari GT car. The island will also host the Warner Bros. Theme Park, which will feature attractions based on Looney Tunes, Hanna-Barbera and DC Comic characters. Meanwhile Yas Island Water Park,  for which no completion date has yet been set, will boast aqua themed rides.

No development in the UAE is complete without a mall, and Yas Mall, featuring three department stores and 500 luxury units, will break the mould in terms of its cutting edge design and the international brands it aims to attract. It will cover an area of 296,000 square metres and will feature a car park with 16,000 spaces and several triple-level stores. In terms of accommodation, both residents and tourists will be well catered for. Residential villas and apartments will be built alongside the island's various waterways and canals, including at the top-end, duplex waterfront apartments on the banks of the Yas Lagoon. Yas Hotel will be the island's flagship hotel and will be joined by several branded hotels along the Northern Crescent and Beachfront Esplanade. In all, there will be over 2500 guest rooms. In terms of its transport infrastructure, the developers are planning to include a public transport system and a 10 lane highway connecting Yas Island to both Abu Dhabi and Dubai which will reduce the drive time to the capital city to just 10 minutes. The environmental impact of such a road network, will, the developers hope, be offset by the green initiatives taking place on the island, including the monitoring of the effects of the development on local waterways and the planting of 80,000 mangroves on the western shores of the island, adjacent to the island's links golf course.

Al Raha Beach

Developer: Aldar Properties
Date for completion: 2019

Al Raha Beach has been dubbed the new gateway to Abu Dhabi. It will be a waterfront city and home to the emirate's new World Trade Centre building, residential areas and a central business district. The island will accommodate 120,000 residents and, in a bid to encourage foreign investment, will be one of the first designated areas where non nationals can invest in leasehold property in Abu Dhabi. Al Raha will be split into four distinct districts: Al Zeina, Khor Al Raha, Al Seef and Al Dana. Al Zeina is described by the developers as the 'garden city' and will be located at the island's quieter eastern end. Villas and apartments will front a beach and the community will feature a retail arcade, shops and cafe's. Khor Al Raha, at the eastern mouth of Al Raha Beach's Grand Canal, will have restricted public access and cars there will be kept to a minimum. Buildings will be tiered from three to 14 floors and will have sea views. Al Bandar will be an island set around a marina with moorings for resident's boats. 

For those wanting to live in a livelier area, Al Seef will feature a vibrant residential, commercial and hotel district. Three islands offshore will provide facilities for watersports. Meanwhile Al Dana, formed around a circular marina, will be built as a series of semi-circular zones which will increase in height. Al Dana's marina will also be the main transit stop for water transport. There will be several other districts within the development, including the cultural district, Al Shaleela, which will feature galleries and art studios as well a media museum. Al Razeen, the "Arabian Water District" will be made up of secluded villas on an island parallel to Al Shaleel and will be connected to the mainland by a series of waterways and bridges. A sophisticated public transport network will be developed to ferry people around Al Raha Beach, including a light rail system with 14 stops, a bus service, catamarans, ferries and water taxis. Road traffic will be minimised with the central boulevard roads, leading straight into underground parking areas for each precinct. Although it is a short distance from Yas and Saadiyat Islands, there will be plenty of entertainment on Al Raha itself, including a 300,000-square metre shopping and exhibition centre, two marinas and several parkland golf courses.

Al Reem Island

Developer: Sorouh Real Estate, Reem Investments, Tamouh
Date for completion:  TBC

Al Reem is a natural island 600 metres off the coast of Abu Dhabi. Once developers have completed their US$30 billion project, however, it will be a very different place. The island is currently being jointly developed by Sorouh Real Eastate, Reem Investments and Tamouh, each of whom has staked their claim to one of the emirate's most ambitious real estate projects. Over 22,000 residential units are to be built on the island, which will be connected to the mainland by two or three bridges. The island has been designed to cater to a permanent population of residents rather than as a tourist attraction and will feature schools,  medical clinics, shopping malls, restaurants, as well as hotels and a 27-hole golf course. The centrepiece of the island will be Shams Abu Dhabi, which is being developed by Sorouh Real Estate, owner of 20 percent of the development.

Shams will be a self-contained city in its own right, home to 45,000 residents and designed around canals and parks. At the heart of Shams will be Central Park, which, as its name suggests, will be modelled on the New York version and will feature a theatre district, waterside restaurants and shops. At the entrance to Shams will be the Gate District which will be made up of eight skyscrapers for both residents and businesses and a luxury shopping mall. The Shams project is expected to cost US$6.9 billion in total and will occupy 25 percent of the island. The residential areas will account for 90 percent of the project while the remaining 10 percent will be used for commercial and recreational areas. It will contain 100 skyscrapers, 22,000 residential units and a one million square-metre park. Other developments will include the 83-storey Sky Tower and the five million square-metre Abu Dhabi Towers. The first phase of Shams is expected to be completed this year.