Abu Dhabi works on Dh30b housing boost

Wednesday, Sep 28, 2011

Gulf News

Abu Dhabi: Greenery is scarce and the land barren except for a few scattered residential areas for miles around Abu Dhabi International Airport.

But within the next few years, this corner of Abu Dhabi will see unprecedented changes, as three mega cities are developed at an estimated cost of Dh30 billion to serve the capital citys growing population.

Khalifa City A, Khalifa City B and Mohammad Bin Zayed City span a total of 88.7 million square metres and are expected to house a large Emirati population, with most of the plots already having been allocated to UAE nationals.

The mega cities will also serve as a major residential location for Capital District, the future central business district of the capital that will be situated outside the island, Bryan Wilson, project director of Mohammad Bin Zayed City at the Municipality of Abu Dhabi City, told Gulf News yesterday.

He was speaking on the sidelines of the Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Congress, which saw municipal and government officials discuss various development projects with private sector executives from across the region.

Putting the sizes of the three future districts in perspective, Wilson said that the area for Mohammad Bin Zayed City alone was bigger than the Greek city of Athens, and almost as big as Manhattan in New York.

Of the three developments, Mohammad Bin Zayed City and Khalifa City A can both house about 100,000 residents, according to a ?municipal study conducted in January. At current rates, the cities are growing at an average rate of 6 per cent every year.

However, the development is scattered, with no public parks or green areas developed yet. At present, the municipality is still finalising its masterplans. In addition, it is designing early parks and green amenities in all three cities to serve the communities in the present, as well as testing the layout for public realms on the streets, Wilson said.

While the basic road network for the three suburbs has been constructed, the municipality official said further development would only be undertaken after the residential plots have been built upon.

In order to implement sustainable standards in the three districts, as required by the Urban Planning Councils Estidama guidelines, there are also plans to use treated sewage effluent for public irrigation.

The distribution network for this is being developed at present. A 40 per cent reduction in cost and energy will also be achieved by the use of LED lighting and other energy-efficient technology on the streets, Wilson said.

At a glance: Highlights

Khalifa City A