CAJ: Advanced infrastructure megaprojects - Masdar City #2 (When?)

Masdar City

When?

A short history of Masdar

The plan to build Masdar City has been announced in 2006. According to the "Masdar master plan" the city was supposed to be complete by 2016. The goals of the master plan were the following:

• building a 6 km2 walled city with a targeted population of 47,000 people and 1,500 businesses
• using 100% renewable energy (solar, wind, biomass and geothermal)
• car-free city, travelling provided by walking, biking, mass transit and a personal rapid transit system (see How?)
• zero waste and zero carbon emission
• a research university (Masdar Institute) assisted by MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Construction on Masdar

However, by 2009 Masdar had to face a couple of problems. Although the construction was moving forward, at a much slower pace than expected. The solar panels, installed in order to provide energy for the whole city, are constantly covered in sand due to the frequent sandstorms. However, experts say that these dust storms mean less a problem for Masdar than for example cloudy days do for European solar plants.

Dust storm

Unfortunately it was announced in 2010 that the project could not be finished earlier than 2020. The master plan had to be revisited due to the weak property market in Abu Dhabi. It was decided that not all of the electricity would be produced on site but should be imported.

Masdar is only expected to be fully built-out by 2020-2025. By then the city is supposed to have 40,000 residents and 50,000 commuters. However, now as Masdar is still under construction, it is referred to an innovation playground instead of a real city. Today its only residents are scientists and students from all over the world, who are continuously working on the sustainability of Masdar. As of September 2013, the total number of students exceeded 400, 162 of whom were UAE nationals*.

Masdar Institute

In 2011 at the end of the first phase of the constructions the city consisted of a street, 102 residential apartments, a large electronic library and the Masdar Institute, which is a research-driven, graduate-level university. The first six complete buildings of the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology campus included three residential buildings, two laboratory buildings and a Knowledge Centre. 

In the frame of the second phase Masdar Institute will double the size of the university campus enlarging the sports and other cultural facilities. Apart from enlarging the university, inviting companies to Masdar is the ultimate goal. According to the manager of program management and investments for Masdar City “It’s one thing to use less energy, it’s another thing to create an attractive real estate development that uses less energy.”
Siemens announced moving its Siemens Middle East Headquarters Building to Masdar by 2014. At the end of January the first employees arrived and altogether 800 are expected to work in Masdar. In addition to Siemens, numerous medium and small-sized companies, such as General Electrics, Mitsubishi and Schneider Electrics are moving to Masdar this year. More than 100 companies have already registered to open up shops in Masdar City. The first commercial building in the city, the four-storey, 10,000 m2 Incubator Building has been aroused to host these companies.

Siemens Building

Incubator Building

Although the history of Masdar has not always been flourishing, the project is - if with alterations from the original plan - moving forward. Though in order to maintain and prosper the city, apart from the sustainability it also plays a crucial role, who is living and working in Masdar.

*Sources: http://www.masdar.ac.ae/about-us/fast-facts
https://www.greentechmedia.com/articles/read/masdar-update




Further posts on topic: Introduction, What? Where?, Who? Why? How?