$65.4bn — to turn Abu Dhabi into a 15-minute city

Summary

• Abu Dhabi will spend Dh240 billion on infrastructure over a decade to shorten daily journeys.
• Shaded walkways, fewer car trips and better public transport anchor the capital's 10-year smart-city plan.
• Officials frame liveability, not construction volume, as the measure of the emirate's next development phase.

The latest

Dh240 billion ($65.4 billion) will be channelled into Abu Dhabi's infrastructure over the next decade to build communities where work, schools, healthcare and leisure sit within 15 minutes, urban planners said on Tuesday. Eisa Almazrouei, director general of the Infrastructure Development Directorate at the Department of Municipalities and Transport, said the emirate aims to become the world's most enjoyable and liveable city.

Details

• The model: The 15-minute city concept is designed to recover time lost to long commutes and congestion by placing daily essentials within a short walk or ride. Officials said shaded corridors, reduced urban sprawl and stronger public transport to cut car dependence will sit at the centre of the plan for the next 10 years.
• The consultation: Almazrouei said the department involves communities to understand what residents actually require before designing projects. He said the objective is a city people enjoy using daily rather than one measured by built volume, and named mobility pressure between points as the problem the programme must remove.
• Reem Island proof point: Two bridges opened in March linking Reem Island directly to the Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Highway. The crossing is designed to handle up to 7,200 vehicles an hour and cut peak travel times by 60 per cent, or 15 minutes. Almazrouei cited the island as a fast-growing area in the capital.
• The numbers so far: Almazrouei said up to 350 parks have been added across Abu Dhabi and cycle tracks expanded from 900km to more than 2,000km. He said the work served the city and the community rather than infrastructure alone. No completion date was given for the wider decade-long programme.
• Technology's role: Jim Hagemann Snabe, chairman of Siemens AG, said designing environments around viability, feasibility, desirability and sustainability opens the chance to rethink urban design. He said technology is taking up more space and there is an obligation to keep the outcome centred on humans rather than the systems themselves.
• Invisible systems: Snabe said urban technology becomes invisible when it works and visible only when it fails. He said systems running behind the scenes can predict behaviour patterns, reduce time wasted in traffic and deliver services quietly, leaving residents more time with other people.
• Autonomous rollout: Saadiyat Island, Yas Island and Al Maryah Island — the capital's main tourist and cultural hubs — are set for closer integration as autonomous vehicles are deployed. Smart traffic systems, multi-modal public transport and pedestrian-first or car-free spaces are being developed to improve sustainability across the city.
• Masdar benchmark: Masdar City was presented as the template, 20 years after launch, for applying the 15-minute ethos to larger communities. Chief executive Ahmed Baghoum said the master plan was built around environmental, commercial and social sustainability, and that more than three million people have been carried in autonomous vehicles there since 2006.
• Shade and belonging: Baghoum said Masdar City has over 200,000 square metres of public parks covered by solar panels and canopies to draw families in the evenings. He said the project treated belonging as critical for residents and visitors from the first day of planning.
• International precedent: Paris has moved schools, parks and services closer to families to improve accessibility and community cohesion. Melbourne has adopted a child-friendly cities policy under its urban development strategy, prioritising safe walking routes and access to nature and play areas.

Background

The discussion opened the three-day LiveX exhibition in Abu Dhabi, which focuses on liveable cities and showcases how developers are using autonomous vehicles and technology to make new and established communities more efficient.

Between the lines

The projects officials chose to cite are telling: a bridge, 350 parks and 1,100km of added cycle track are conventional civil works, while the 15-minute framing repackages them as time returned to residents. Masdar City's three million autonomous journeys since 2006 are offered as evidence the model scales — a claim resting on a purpose-built district rather than an existing dense neighbourhood.

What's next

Watch the pace of autonomous vehicle deployment across Saadiyat, Yas and Al Maryah islands, and whether the Department of Municipalities and Transport attaches project milestones or annual spending figures to the Dh240 billion commitment.

Source: The National