Maxi infrastructure plan in the Arab Emirates’ future

Infrastructure development played and continues to play a fundamental role in the UAE’s expansion and growth plans. The UAE has recently set ambitious and comprehensive plans for a sustainable urban development focusing on enhancing people's happiness and quality of life and reinforcing UAE as a global destination for citizens, residents and visitors over the next 20 years.

To meet its infrastructure plans, the UAE government has started pushing forward with its various initiatives and projects, including the Dubai 2040 Urban Development plan, the Sheikh Zayed Housing Programme, the Dubai Tourism Strategy and Dubai Industrial Strategy 2030.

Over the next 6 years, a budget of 40 billion US dollars has been set to meet this infrastructure development plan. Some of the major projects being explored include a futuristic suspended rail network in Dubai, turning a landfill area into a solar farm, a waste-to-energy plant to generate enough electricity to power up to 22,500 UAE households, a reverse osmosis desalination plant with a capacity of producing up to 150 million imperial gallons (almost 682 million liters) of clean water per day, two seawater nano-filtration plants with a combined treatment capacity of 210 million imperial gallons (over 954 million liters) a day.    

The Abu Dhabi Executive Council also approved a framework between the Abu Dhabi Government and Aldar Properties for the development of capital projects in the UAE. Aldar will provide management oversight of US 2.7 billion worth of Musanada’s projects in education, healthcare, infrastructure, social services, and facilities management.

A total of 10 billion US dollars was allocated to infrastructure projects in 2021, and of this amount, the biggest spends were allocated to rail (5 billion US dollars), roads and bridges (1.5 billion US dollars), and utilities (0.5 billion US dollars).

This provides a great opportunity for Mapei Construction Chemicals, as we continue to play a key role in developing UAE’s resilient and eco-friendly infrastructure network, including ports and terminals, roads and bridges, rail, sewerage and waste treatment plants, and utilities.

So far this year, Mapei Construction Chemicals has already made significant contributions to developing infrastructure projects in UAE, below are few examples:

Ports & Terminals:

• Supplying 28,000 m² of MAPEPLAN PVC membrane system to waterproof the conveyer belt tunnel at a construction raw material handling facility at a new port terminal in Dibba (UAE).

• Supplying 235 tonnes of PLANIGROUT 300 ME and 12,000 cartridges of MAPEFIX EP 385 for repairing of crane rail network at a container handling terminal.

Rail:

• Supplying 27,500 m² of MAPEPLAN PVC membrane system for tunnel waterproofing, part of the Etihad Rail network, which included nine tunnels with a combined length of 6.9 km.

Utilities:

• Supplying concrete and shotcrete admixtures for a new pumped storage hydropower plant in the Hajar Mountains, Hatta (UAE): around 500,000 kg of MAPEQUICK AF-70 alkali-free accelerator for shotcrete and sprayed concrete; 100,000 kg of DYNAMON SP4000 superplasticizing admixture; 145,000 kg of MAPEPLAST RP220 SA retarding plasticizer.

With infrastructure spend projected at 12 billion US dollars in 2022, most of which will be focused on rail, ports, terminals, roads and bridges, Mapei looks forward to continue playing its role in making the UAE a better connected country.