Unique Construction Projects in Arab Countries
By: Pamela Dimitrova/Arab America Contributing Writer
Arab countries are famous for their ambitious construction projects, striving to do better and better every day, and slowly transforming the world of technology and construction. From being home to the tallest building in the world to building islands and cities from scratch, these Arab countries do not plan on stopping any time soon. Take a look at a few of the future projects that are currently under construction in the Arab World!
The World’s Tallest Building in Iraq
Designs and plans have been drawn up for the world’s tallest building. Its location? Basra, in the south of Iraq. Designed by architecture practice AMBS and described as a “beacon for Iraq’s future,” at its highest point the proposed Bride will stand at 1,152 meters. The construction will be made of four conjoined towers, the tallest of which, Tower 1, will stand 964 meters high with a 188 meter-high antenna.
While this will make it the world’s tallest building, its architects say that their priority when designing was altogether different. “That was never the ambition,” Marcos De Andres, director at AMBS Architects, told CNBC in a phone interview.
“It was to build the most advanced, sustainable… vertical city,” he added. “It’s the most logical way of doing it… a conjoined system of towers that are connected horizontally. It’s the most stable structure.”
Egypt’s New Capital
The proposed new capital of Egypt is a large-scale project under construction since 2015, and was announced by the Egyptian housing minister, Mostafa Madbouly, at the Egypt Economic Development Conference on March 13, 2015.
The scale of the plans certainly defy historical norms. If completed, the currently nameless city would span 700 sq km (a space almost as big as Singapore), house a park double the size of New York’s Central Park, and a theme park four times as big as Disneyland. There will be exactly 21 residential districts, 25 “dedicated districts,” 663 hospitals and clinics, 1,250 mosques and churches, and 1.1 million homes housing at least five million residents.
After some problems with funding and construction, in January 2019, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi inaugurated Egypt and Middle East’s largest cathedral called “The Nativity of Christ” in the New Administrative Capital and a mega-mosque called “Al-Fattah Al-Aleem Mosque.” This mosque is second in size to Great Mosque of Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
Deira Islands and Bluewater Island in Dubai
No stranger to building man-made islands, Nakheel, the developer of Palm Jumeirah, is helping to bring Deira Islands – a four-island, waterfront city spanning 4.5 million square meters – to life.
Deira Islands will offer retail, residential, and leisure facilities, as well as a 157,935-square-meter communal parkland and 25.3 kilometers of coastline. Attractions will include Deira Islands Mall, a 250-room hotel, a 30,000 capacity amphitheatre, and a marina. Another key attraction is the Night Souk with 5,000 outlets, as well as the Deira Islands Boulevard, a massive shopping and dining promenade with 120 outlets.
On the other hand, the star attraction, or the Bluewater Island by Meraas Holding, will be the world’s largest ferris wheel. At 210 meters tall, the Dubai Eye, 1.5 times the size of the London Eye and worth AED1 billion, will offer views of landmarks such as the Burj Al Arab, Palm Jumeirah and Burj Khalifa. The Dubai Eye will have 48 luxury capsules providing a “private oasis in the sky” with a capacity for 1,400 visitors at any one time. There will also be an 80 meter digital screen for broadcasting, advertisements and interactive information.
The AED6 billion Bluewaters Island project will include entertainment, hospitality, residential and retail zones, with an expected three million visitors every year once it opens in 2018.
‘Noor’ Solar Farm – Morocco
The mirrors cover an area of roughly 1.4 million square meters. The first phase of this plant generated enough electricity to supply 650,000 people when it was switched on in 2016. By 2020, or even sooner, the $9 billion solar power plant is expected to generate 580 megawatts (MW), enough electricity to power over one million homes.
Perhaps more importantly, the solar farm, near the city of Ouarzazate – known as the gateway to the desert – could also be the doorway to a new era of cleaner energy production in Africa.
Symbolically, the name of the plant – Noor – is an Arabic word meaning “light,” and its success could mark the dawn of a new industry for a country that, until recently, imported 97% of its energy needs. In the very near future, Morocco aims to become an exporter of power supplies to Europe and to elsewhere on the African continent and the wider Arab-speaking world.
The Noor solar panels make a humming noise as they move to track the sun, which shines for up to 3,600 hours a year in the desert giving Morocco one of the world’s highest levels of solar power potential.
The City of NEOM
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced at the end of October 2017 the plan to build the $500 billion NEOM project, which is located in the northwest part of the kingdom and includes three countries: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan. The project is born from the ambition of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030, to see the country develop a pioneering and thriving model of excellence in various and important areas of life.
At the beginning of last year, companies from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) were awarded the first contracts to build the infrastructure of the new city and the total contracts awarded were 15 billion Saudi riyals.
NEOM project will focus on nine specialized investment sectors and living conditions that will drive the future of human civilization, energy and water, mobility, biotech, food, technological and digital sciences, advanced manufacturing, media, and entertainment with livability as its foundation.
The focus on these sectors will stimulate economic growth and diversification by nurturing international innovation and manufacturing, driving local industry, creating jobs, and GDP growth in the kingdom. The new megacity will attract private as well as public investments and partnerships. The Saudi project is backed by more than $500 billion over the coming years by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Arabian Public Investment Fund, and local as well as international investors.
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