Abu Dhabi Looks Ahead to 2030

"The project for the downtown area, part of an investment plan called Vision 2030, will focus on upgrading infrastructure to accommodate population growth and adding developments such as housing for as many as 50,000 people, shopping malls, roads and a public transportation system, officials with the Abu Dhabi Urban Planning Council told reporters in the capital yesterday.

'We're planning for the coming 20 years so our plans are always flexible, subject to changes based on the variables or the changes that are happening around us,' said the chief engineer of the project, Amr Hamade. He wouldn't disclose the cost, saying he expects it to change over the course of the work."

Though oil money has enabled the emirate to withstand the current downturn in the economy, its property market has faced troubled and is expected to see more in the coming years.