ABU DHABI // When the Shahama-Saadiyat Highway opens this year, surrounded by construction sites, it will offer little clue to the true scale of the impressive developments lying ahead.
But in five years' time, when drivers leave Mina Zayed on the 10-lane road towards Dubai, they will get the best view of some of the city's biggest new attractions, starting almost as soon as they set off.
Immediately ahead and to the left of the bridge crossing to the island will be the Saadiyat Cultural District, which will eventually be the home of the capital's arts scene.
The full cultural district will occupy 270 hectares, around 10 per cent of the island, and is expected to be completed by 2018. Phase one of the project will be the construction of the Louvre and Guggenheim museums and the Sheikh Zayed National Museum, with building due to be completed by 2012.
The opening of the three museums will be staggered over the following two years, its developers, the Tourism Development and Investment Company (TDIC) said earlier this year.
In the far distance to the left will be the imposing figure of the Guggenheim, with its distinctive turrets jutting in opposing directions from a small pocket of land on the most advanced tip of Saadiyat.
Designed by Frank Gehry, the American architect, it will be the largest of all the Saadiyat museums, at 450,000 square feet.
Closest to the bridge to the left will be the Performing Arts Centre, designed by Zaha Hadid.
The white building will rise from ground level out towards the sea, and will house five theatres, including a concert hall and opera house.
Between the two will stand the Louvre, a speckled low dome hanging over the coastline, designed by the French architect Jean Nouvel.
As though there were not enough to catch the driver's eye on the left-hand side, a long marina with room for 1,000 boats will hug the right of the bridge.
Further within Saadiyat Island, the highway will skirt The Lagoons, a residential development with private jetties for each house, before continuing off Saadiyat, over smaller islands and on to Yas Island.
Most prominent in the distance as the island approaches will be Ferrari World, an enormous red-roofed dome with outstretched arms that will house the first Ferrari theme park, including a number of rollercoasters and other rides, to open in 2010.
Drivers using the highway will get a close view of Ferrari World to their right-hand side when they are halfway across Yas Island. Before that, however, the figure of the Warner Bros theme park will emerge. One of the Yas projects about which least is known, the Warner Bros attraction will be one of the last to be built, opening by around 2013.
The Yas Marina Circuit, the island's centrepiece, will be visible in the distance beyond Ferrari World. The 5.55km-long circuit will host the first Abu Dhabi Formula One Grand Prix on Nov 1.
As drivers pass over a bridge linking Yas Island and the mainland and the final stretch of the highway, a quick glimpse to the right will reveal the Yas Marina Hotel, a T-shaped building cloaked in a colour-changing "shell", as well as a super-yacht marina.
Further beyond that to the right will be the towers of the Al Raha Beach development, a small city in its own right that will stretch over 5.2 million square metres of the mainland coastline.
@Email:rhughes@thenational.ae
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
The specs: 2018 Infiniti QX80
Price: base / as tested: Dh335,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 400hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.1L / 100km
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
