PM Network - August 2015

The UAE is home to the world’s tallest building (the Burj Khalifa in Dubai), its largest man-made harbor (Dubai’s Jebel Ali), and its largest mall (the Dubai Mall, featuring 1,200 stores). But why stop there? Last year, a real estate company owned by Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum announced a project to build an even larger mall, covering 48 million square feet ( 4. 5 million square meters).

Profits from oil exports have propelled many of these high-profile megaprojects. Today, oil and gas generates roughly 40 percent of the UAE’s GDP. But as the outlook for oil falters, Emirati leaders are steering the UAE’s economy toward more sustainable sectors.

This broader focus has led to an increasingly diverse project landscape. The country has already launched an array of initiatives in line with its Vision 2021 National Agenda, which intends to develop a knowledge-based economy built on innovation.

“There’s definitely a lot of project growth in manufacturing, information automation, tourism and transportation,” says Peter Vande Kerckhove, PMP, project manager, manufacturing application systems at Borouge, a plastics manufacturer in Abu Dhabi, UAE. “When guests visit, most are very surprised by how much is going on here, outside of oil and gas industry development.”

AN EYE ON INNOVATION

UAE leaders aren’t shy about diversifying into other sectors. The government officially designated 2015 the Year of Innovation, focusing on areas such as renewable energy, transportation and technology.

A large-scale push for technology innovation—one that has spurred hundreds of new projects—is Dubai’s Smart City initiative. Launched in 2014, it focuses on making services more efficient across six sectors: transportation, communications, infrastructure, energy, economic services and urban planning. Smart City projects include the installation of sensors throughout the city to better manage traffic flows,