United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates has rapidly transformed from nothing short of a barren desert to a global tourist and business destination in just a few short decades. A large portion of this success can be attributed to its ambitious, forward-thinking leaders who have set ambitious goals and committed to city-changing projects in an effort to ultimately diversify the country’s economy away from oil and gas through the built environment. Four plans and/or events have been identified as the largest facilitators of future projected growth in the UAE’s infrastructure sector. These are EXPO 2020, Dubai Future Foundation, Plan Abu Dhabi 2030, and UAE Energy Strategy 2050.
The following report also highlights a number of the other initiatives that all have the same overall goals as well. Although there are many more initiatives being set forth, these were identified to be the most prominent. All of these initiatives have been set forth by the government’s leaders which consist most prominently of: Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, also the son of Abu Dhabi’s Ruler. Over the next few decades, these rulers have big ideas and execution plans to further bring the UAE to the next level and keep the industry on the forefront of innovation and technology. By constructing the world’s tallest tower, the world’s largest airport, the world’s tallest hotel, largest indoor theme park, and largest shopping mall, to name a few, it is safe to say the United Arab Emirates have put themselves on the map, and they show little sign of stopping soon. With construction spending up to 20% of the country’s total budget, and $201B worth of construction underway as of June 2018.
Team
Ellen Walker
Qiong Wu
Pavan Kantharaj
