Features

Desert dreams

30 Sep 2009 by Anonymous

Abu Dhabi has a plan. Felicity Cousins finds out what the emirate is doing to turn its oil wealth into a lasting future.

If there is anywhere in the world where wild imaginings can become reality, it’s the UAE. But while Dubai builds the Middle East’s playground with the world’s media on its tail, the capital, Abu Dhabi, has taken a more considered approach to its own development.

Janet Abrahams, executive director of sales and marketing at luxury hotel Emirates Palace, says: “Abu Dhabi is very different from Dubai and the only reason they are used in the same sentence is because they are in the same country. It’s like trying to compare Paris with London – they have such different identities. Dubai was built from the beginning on tourism, the media and the Free Zone of Jebel Ali Port, whereas Abu Dhabi’s base was oil. Now, imagine if you build a capital city and cover every single aspect of life from culture to sport to entertainment. That’s Abu Dhabi – you can do everything.”

Mubarak Hamad Al Muhairi, director-general of the Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA), explains the process behind the capital’s development. “When Abu Dhabi Tourism was formed, we looked at well-established destinations – be they in other emirates, or in the region, or globally – to see how we could differentiate ourselves. By doing so we could learn from what went wrong and what went right in other places.”

Despite the difficult economic times, the emirate is still pulling in the crowds. The number of hotel guests in Abu Dhabi in the first six months of this year was almost the same as in the same period in 2008 – about 800,000 – with occupancy at 79 per cent. Last year saw 1.5 million hotel guests, something that 60 years ago would have seemed only a dream.

Abu Dhabi started life as a small island town, with pearling its main industry, but in 1958 the discovery of oil changed the course of the UAE forever. The emirate holds about 10 per cent of the world’s proven oil reserves and 5 per cent of its gas reserves. The wealth from the oil was used to improve the infrastructure of the capital city, and today it continues to flourish.

Al Muhairi says: “On the business side, the economy has been growing and two years ago the government announced the 2030 economic plan. We have totally revamped our exhibition centre, and have worked closely with the Abu Dhabi National Exhibitions Company (ADNEC) to promote business and build our calendar of events from only eight or ten in 2005 to almost 40 or 50 this year [see panel, above right, for some upcoming events]. In the next two years there are plans to take it to 100 events in the centre.”

The layout of Abu Dhabi is changing rapidly as Urban Plan 2030 starts to take shape. “Soon there will be several centres in different districts,” Al Muhairi says. “There will be a cultural area, an industrial area and so on, and you can see this now with the new Saadiyat bridge, which will connect Abu Dhabi city to Yas and Saadiyat islands. The bridge [which was set to open at the end of September, followed by Sheikh Zayed bridge in 2010], will change the orientation of Abu Dhabi, because for hundreds of years Abu Dhabi Island was always accessed from the same point, at Al Maqta bridge. Before that, people had to wait for low tide. Now, for the first time in our history, the island is accessible from a different direction.”

Developing the emirate’s natural islands is the main focus right now. Half a kilometre off the coast, the 27 sq km Saadiyat Island is being transformed. Some projects, such as the golf resort, are already complete, but others will not be ready until 2013. The idea is that the island will be a business hub for international commerce, as well as providing luxury waterfront accommodation and entertainment for residents and visitors. As its website, saadiyat.ae, declares: “Saadiyat Island will be an irresistible magnet attracting the world to Abu Dhabi – and taking Abu Dhabi to the world.”

The island will have seven districts – cultural, marina, promenade, lagoons, reserve, beach and retreat. The cultural district will have the Louvre Abu Dhabi (designed by Jean Nouvel and due to open in 2013), the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi (designed by Frank Gehry, also opening in 2013) and Sheikh Zayed National Museum (designed by Foster and Partners, set to open in 2012). There’s also a performing arts centre under construction.

High-end luxury resorts have staked their claim in the beach district. Starwood’s first St Regis Hotel and Residences in the UAE is due to open in 2011, along with a Park Hyatt joined to ADNEC (opening next year), the Saadiyat Rotana Resort (opening in 2012) and luxury villas to be completed in 2011.

Why has Abu Dhabi decided to focus on culture? Al Muhairi says: “We see ourselves as a hub for art. When the Louvre opens, visitors and residents will benefit, but such developments have a greater objective – to help develop a new generation of people who understand the world and are part of the global community. By exposing people to art – be it music, performing art or masterpieces – they meet other civilisations and cultures.”

You can view Saadiyat Island’s progress at the exhibition inside the Emirates Palace, which includes plans, scale models, a timescale and photographs, as well as a history of the emirate. Abrahams says: “Soon there will also be miniature models introduced to show in more detail what will appear in the Guggenheim, the Louvre and the Sheikh Zayed Museum.”

At the end of October, the city’s Yas Island will host the first Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Al Muhairi says: “Formula One is the event of the year in Abu Dhabi. It is what everyone is waiting for and all the government departments have made a huge effort to prepare.” The island has big designs for after the race too, including plans for more than 20 hotels – Yas hotel, opening in November, sits partially over the F1 circuit.

Yas Island will be home to one of the world’s largest indoor theme parks – the inspired Ferrari World, pictured on this issue’s front cover, is due to open next year and will feature what’s described as the fastest roller-coaster ever built. There’s also plans for a Warner Brothers theme park, and the Yas Mall, with more than 500 shops. (Visit yasisland.ae for more details.)

In December, the city will host the FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2009, and the Emirates Palace will provide one of eight official training grounds for the players. The pitch has been FIFA approved, with grass flown in from Cuba – no one is allowed to touch it. And instead of solid metal terraces for spectators, the hotel has created a rolling hill of grass around the pitch, with seats set into the earth. The hotel will act as FIFA’s headquarters, and afterwards the pitch will become Manchester City Football Club’s winter training ground.

With all these new projects and events, business and leisure travellers are bound to wonder if hotel rates will rise. But Al Muhairi says not: “In the past, room rates went high for some events and [on several occasions] we had to interfere and cap them. The best thing is to have reasonable rates. We want to attract the organisers of big events and encourage them to expand, but in the past they didn’t do this because of limits with accommodation. More rooms will make Abu Dhabi more attractive – I don’t worry about over-supply.”

ADTA is expecting 2.3 million hotel guests a year by 2012, and the city has had to plan its infrastructure well to deal with extra visitors. The airport is being expanded and has introduced 50 free walk-up internet kiosks, while Etihad recently opened its dedicated Terminal 3. Abrahams says Abu Dhabi is also planning to link a metro system with its neighbour, Dubai. “We are planning something with a long-term ambition – built to last and built for the people of the UAE as well as people visiting,” she says.

Visit abudhabitourism.ae

Upcoming events in Abu Dhabi

  • October 8-17: Middle East International Film Festival (Emirates Palace)
  • October 30-November 1: Formula One Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (Yas Marina Circuit)
  • December 9-19: FIFA Club World Cup UAE 2009, presented by Toyota (Zayed Sports City Stadium and Mohammed Bin Zayed Stadium)

Masdar City and IRENA

Located 17km south-east of Abu Dhabi city, in the desert, is the site for Masdar City. Set to be complete in 2016, this is a 6,000 sq km sustainable micro-city that aims to be a carbon neutral, zero-waste, solar-powered eco-development. Designed by Foster and Partners with developer the Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company, the initiative is wholly owned by the government of Abu Dhabi and the architecture is inspired by the traditional medinas, souks and wind towers of the UAE.

The goal is to establish a new financial sector in Abu Dhabi, which will aid economic diversification. Masdar City will become home to 40,000 residents and 50,000 daily commuters, and will be pedestrian-friendly. There will be shaded walkways connected to homes, schools, restaurants, theatres and shops. Academics, researchers, students, entrepreneurs, financers and more than 1,500 companies will have offices and research centres within the city walls.

Phase one of the development has already begun and the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology is under way, with 100 students and faculty moving in by this autumn. Visit masdar.ae for more details.  

Abu Dhabi has also just won the bid to be the headquarters for the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), to be based in the Masdar development. IRENA was founded in January this year and has more than 131 member countries. The agency aims to promote the widespread and sustainable use of renewable energy on a global scale. Visit irena.org

Additional research by Tom Otley.

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