ABU DHABI: A local newspaper has said that for global cities like Dubai, airports are the beating heart that drives their ability to act as centres for international aviation and finance. They are also major employers that are vital to national economic growth.
‘When His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, announced plans this week for a new terminal at Al Maktoum Airport with a total investment of AED128 billion ($34.8 billion), it became clear that this will not only profoundly affect travel and tourism in an increasingly interconnected Gulf, but will transform the communities that make up this 3.3 million-strong emirate.’
Major urban growth and development are expected over the next decades as Dubai expands southwards and an entire city springs up around the new airport. Demand for residential and commercial real estate in Dubai South and its adjacent areas is certain to rise.
However, such development is about more than bricks and mortar –
to create sustainable communities, these properties must be held together with the social glue of viable public transport, good schools, shops, clinics and hospitals. That will require focused and coordinated planning with a long-term vision for the future.
Dubai has decades of experience managing rapid urbanisation. Its current 2040 Urban Masterplan is the emirate’s seventh development plan since 1960 and shows that rapid population growth fuelled by economic success-between 1960 and 2020, the population grew from 40,000 to 3.3 million-can become the foundation for a stable and prosperous metropolis.
The editorial added that Dubai Expo City-part of the legacy left by Expo 2020 Dubai-is an example of what can be achieved. The site of the World’s Fair is now a flourishing urban community with access to public transport and a range of amenities.
‘The site also has ambitious plans to be powered entirely by renewable energy,’ added the Abu Dhabi-based daily.
Source: Emirates News Agency