The ground-breaking ceremony for Masdar City, located near Abu Dhabi International Airport and intended to be the world’s first zero-carbon, zero-waste, car-free city, was marked by the laying of a ‘virtual cornerstone’ by Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on 9 February. A total budget of $22 billion has been announced for this revolutionary real estate development.
Dr Al Jaber, CEO of the Masdar City project company, said, “We are creating a city where residents and commuters will live the highest quality of life with the lowest environmental footprint. Masdar City will become the world’s hub for future energy. By taking sustainable development and living to a new level, it will lead the world in understanding how all future cities should be built”.
Masdar City’s qualities are expected to include the saving of the equivalent of more than $2 billion in oil over the next 25 years, based on today’s energy prices, a 75% reduction in installed power capacity (the city will require approximately 200 MW of installed capacity compared to the more than 800 MW required to power a similar city based on conventional design) and will require only 8000 cubic metre per day of desalinated water compared to the 20000 cmd of a traditionally designed city. If all goes to plan it will be powered by solar collectors and a gas reforming/desalination plant with carbon capture, and will incorporate highly advanced amenities and public areas including a rail transport system based on car-sized pods operated by voice commands.