Vision Magazine Online Issue 1

A Sustainable Capital Asset
Abu Dhabi will be graced with a new federal heart, called Capital
District, which will help elevate the city to the status of a leading
sustainable Arab capital.
Travelling along the main road between Abu Dhabi
Mainland and Abu Dhabi International Airport you can
see a forest of cranes towering over the first buildings
to be constructed in Abu Dhabi’s new sustainable
Capital District development.
The Zayed University and Abu Dhabi’s 65,000-seat
New Stadium are huge developments in their own
right, but they are dwarfed by the Urban Planning
Council’s (UPC) grand masterplan.
The sheer scale of the planned new Capital District
is mesmerising. Totalling 45 square kilometres, the
triangular-shaped district covers an area equivalent to
about 75% of the land mass of Abu Dhabi Island.
Unsurprisingly, it is the single largest initiative within
Capital 2030 (the Urban Structure Framework
Plan formerly called Plan Abu Dhabi 2030), and
arguably Abu Dhabi’s most important and sustainable
development. Once complete, it will provide more than
32 million square metres of office, residential, hotel,
retail and leisure space; as well as key government
buildings, mosques, schools, parks, plazas, community
facilities and health amenities.
Located strategically between Abu Dhabi International
Airport and Abu Dhabi Island, the Capital District will
be home for some of Abu Dhabi’s most important
institutions in six separate precincts (see page 6). It
will become home to 370,000 residents and have
a daily population of more than 800,000 workers,
visitors and shoppers when complete.
“The objective of the Capital District is to create a
leading sustainable modern Arab capital” explains
Jody Andrews, Director of the Capital District
Development at the UPC. “The Capital District reflects
the passion and vision of the Emirate’s leadership to
transform Abu Dhabi into an economically, socially
and environmentally sustainable city that reflects the
values, culture and heritage of its people.”
The design of the Capital District is based on a concept
called the ‘4 Cs’ – Capital, Central to business,
Connectivity and Community.
The Capital District will become the centre of political
leadership and influence across the country as it will
serve as the new national seat of the UAE government
and house a diplomatic and embassy neighbourhood.
It will also become Central to business and help Abu
Dhabi attain sustainable and diversified economic
growth by creating a second Central Business District
for Abu Dhabi, which will total 1.5 million square
metres and create over 100,000 jobs.
A key aspect of the Capital District will be Connectivity.
It will be served by a world-class transportation system
to include an underground metro, a street level light rail
system, a new bus network and a high speed regional
rail connecting the Capital District to the airport, Dubai,
Al Ain and beyond. The design of the streetscape will
also promote walking and cycling.
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