UAE Infrastructure and Development: A Comprehensive Look

Posted on Feb 3, 2025 in Geography

Chapter 7: UAE Infrastructure and Development

Introduction

There is a renewed focus on urban planning in the UAE as the recent economic boom has brought with it a rapidly rising population and a wide range of real estate, commercial, and industrial development.

Urban planners have met the resulting challenges, such as traffic congestion, housing shortages, and improvement of infrastructure, with visionary long-term plans that focus on boosting the quality of life for all while pursuing the goal of economic diversification.

Electricity and Water

Demand for electricity and water continues to grow at a fast pace in the UAE. Many new electricity generation plants have been built in recent years to keep up with growing requirements, while desalination continues to be the main source of potable water in a country that has few natural sources.

Oil and gas (some of which is imported) remain the primary sources of fuel for power and water generation. However, to meet its considerable future energy needs and reduce its carbon emissions, the UAE has instituted a comprehensive civil nuclear energy program within the framework of the safeguards and supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Telecommunication

The UAE has a fast, efficient telecommunications network regulated by the UAE Telecommunication Regulatory Authority. In 2012, mobile penetration rates were in the region of 97.1 percent with internet penetration around 74 percent.

  • Etisalat Company

Etisalat, the UAE’s first telecom provider and a major player in the international arena, was joined by Du in 2006. The latter has now gained a significant market share.

Airports and Ports

Significant economic development and investment in aviation have led to a corresponding expansion in airports, ports, and related infrastructure in the UAE. Abu Dhabi International Airport, home to Etihad Airways, and Dubai International Airport, home to Emirates airline and the budget airline Flydubai, are undergoing massive redevelopment costing billions of dirhams.

  • Al Ain International Airport is being considerably revamped and the UAE’s seventh international airport.
  • Al Maktoum International at Dubai World Central is also taking shape.
  • Redevelopment is underway at Sharjah International Airport, home to the budget airline Air Arabia; while international airports in Fujairah and Ra’s al-Khaimah are also being expanded.

The sum total of these projects ensures that the UAE has become the largest investor in airport development in the Middle East.

  • Mina (port) Zayed in Abu Dhabi City, the emirate’s main general cargo port to date, is being replaced by Khalifa Port, a massive new 417-square-kilometer port and industrial development at Al Taweelah.

It is estimated that Khalifa Port and the surrounding industrial zone, Kizad, will contribute 15 percent of the capital’s non-oil GDP by 2030.

  • Dubai’s Ports at Port Rashid in Dubai City and Jebel Ali south of the city play a pivotal role in trade in the UAE. In particular, Jebel Ali, which primarily handles bulk cargo and industrial material for Jebel Ali Free Zone, is the largest man-made port in the world.
  • Sharjah is the only emirate with a port on both UAE coasts. Its East Coast port, Khor Fakkan Container Terminal, the only natural deep-water port in the region, has a strategic geographical position in the context of today’s huge deep-sea container trade, being close to the main east-west shipping lanes and outside the sensitive Strait of Hormuz.
  • Fujairah Port commissioned an additional 150,000 cubic meters of onshore bunker storage facilities early in 2005, ensuring that it now ranks as the second-largest bunkering center in the world.

Dubai Mall

  • The Dubai Mall is a 12.1-million square foot retail, lifestyle, and entertainment destination equal to about 50 international-sized soccer fields. Home to the most extensive collection of major fashion brands in the world, The Dubai Mall is a celebration of haute couture with 70 signature stores in the luxury Fashion Avenue.
  • Anchors include France’s leading lifestyle retailer Galeries Lafayette, with America’s favorite Bloomingdale’s to open early in 2010. With more than 1,200 stores and an impressive array of leisure pursuits and attractions, The Dubai Mall is a world-class destination and an unprecedented shopping experience.
  • Discerning shoppers will find a treasure-trove of shops, conveniently clustered into precincts at The Dubai Mall. Choices range from the world’s most renowned department stores to trendy boutiques, couturier fashion for men, women, and children, Arabic fashion, bookstores, electronic and computer retailers, eyewear and footwear, tailors, giftware, florists, watches and jewelry, health and beauty and cosmetics, sports, travel and luggage, toys and hobbies, music, and fashion accessories.
  • Services include banks and financials, laundry and dry cleaners, pharmacy and medical, photo development, telecommunications, and the largest Waitrose supermarket in the Middle East. More info on www.thedubaimall.com

Al Reem Island Abu Dhabi

  • Al Reem Island is a residential, commercial, and business mega project to be built on the natural island of Al Reem Isle, located off the northeastern coast of Abu Dhabi city.
  • This ‘mega-development’ will be fully equipped with the finest schools, golf courses, parks & gardens, art galleries, beaches, hotels & resorts, shopping malls, restaurants, recreational centers, and healthcare facilities.

Burj Khalifa Height

Burj Khalifa is the tallest building in the world according to the three main criteria of the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). The CTBUH ranks the world’s tallest buildings based on ‘Height to Architectural Top,’ ‘Height to Highest Occupied Floor,’ and ‘Height to Tip.’ At 828 meters (2,716.5ft), Burj Khalifa is 320 meters taller than Taipei 101, which at 508 meters (1,667 ft) had held the record for the world’s tallest building measured to the architectural top since 2004, the year the project was announced.

Burj Khalifa achieved the distinction of being the world’s tallest structure – surpassing the KVLY-TV mast (628.8 meters; 2,063 ft) in North Dakota, USA – 1,325 days after excavation work started in January 2004. The tower also beats the 31-year-old record of CN Tower, which at 553.33 meters (1,815.5 ft) had been the world’s tallest free-standing structure on land since 1976.

The official height of the tower, unveiled as ‘Burj Khalifa,’ was announced as 828 meters (2,716.5 ft).