Project Vision

Al Ain is an environmental and cultural jewel in the crown of Abu Dhabi. However, the city has reached a crucial point in its history.

To help Al Ain evaluate and respond to current and future development challenges, and support the evolution of the city into a model desert community, the UPC has created Plan Al Ain 2030: Urban Structure Framework Plan. This long-term plan is an integral part of the overall 2030 vision for the Abu Dhabi Emirate, a vision that is inspired by the late HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and crafted for future generations.

This vision presents a comprehensive plan for the future of Al Ain as an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable city. It proposes new ways to grow and leverage the economic opportunities at hand without sacrificing the environmental and cultural heritage of the city – and adds new elements to make it a dynamic hub in the modern global economy.

Through a balance of conservation and development, Plan Al Ain 2030 will foster the authentic Arabic identity of Al Ain whilst supporting a continuously evolving modern culture. The plan has been developed through close collaboration between planning experts, representatives of the Abu Dhabi Government, the Al Ain Municipality and local people.

Development Objective

Importantly, Plan Al Ain 2030 promises special treatment for the city’s oases, ensuring that they remain at the heart of the community for generations to come. It simultaneously supports traditional Bedouin living based on the ‘Fareej’, groups of dwellings situated around a shaded courtyard that allow extended Emirati families to live together in close proximity.



Plan Al Ain 2030 strikes a delicate and much-needed balance between conservation and development. It explores the need to conserve ground water resources and protect natural habitats. As well as creating a comprehensive network of protected areas and limiting urban sprawl, Plan Al Ain 2030 proposes projects that exploit existing economic wealth to develop renewable energy production and reduce the consumption of non-renewable resources.

Al Ain will embody its role as the founding source of the Emirate through protecting its historic assets, its delicate cultural landscapes, and its noble heritage.

Al Ain will be a contemporary expression of a healthy desert oasis city that builds on traditions of water management and agriculture while expanding the role of the oasis in the urban setting. Protected natural environment: Al Ain will respect, protect, be scaled to and shaped by its unique natural environment of fragile and endangered desert and mountain ecologies. 

During Phase 1, the major structural elements of the Land Use Framework will be planned, including a redevelopment plan for the City’s Central District, key transportation and transit improvement initiatives, and the advancement of Emirati housing projects.

For Phase 2, the major structural components of the Gateway Transit Corridor will be planned, and development at key transit nodes will intensify. Planning work will begin on the surface tram system and the development of Emirati housing will continue in the areas such as Salamat and Al Khrair.

By implementation of Phase 3 by 2030, the Al Maqam, Asharej, and Al Muwaiji districts will join the Central District to house the majority of Al Ain residents and commerce. A second north-south axis consisting of Hili, Al Jimi, Al Mutaredh, and Sanaiya will also contain higher density accommodation, creating a crossroad where the two major axes meet.