Abu Dhabi's National Aquarium to open on Friday in Al Qana

Abu Dhabi's much-awaited National Aquarium is set to open on Friday, it was announced at a press conference on Tuesday.

The new aquarium is based in Al Qana, a new waterfront destination in the capital, and is home to 46,000 creatures and 300 species spread across 10 zones. It will be the biggest aquarium in the Middle East when it opens and the wildlife that live there will be cared for by a team of 80 sea-life experts and specialists.

General manager Paul Hamilton said the National Aquarium "honours the heritage of the UAE".

"We definitely nailed it. It’s better than any other in the Middle East."

Ticket prices start at Dh105 per person and there are four tiers of ticketing including general admission (Dh105), beyond the glass (Dh130), bu tinah dhow (Dh150) and VIP ticket (200).

The family attraction, being developed by the Department of Municipalities and Transport in Abu Dhabi and Al Barakah International Investment, is also set to house the Middle East's largest collection of sharks and rays, as well as Super Snake, a 14-year-old female reticulated python.

The reticulated python is the longest snake breed in the world, regularly reaching more than 6.25 metres long, with the largest yet recorded to be 10 metres (about the size of a school bus). And at seven metres, Super Snake will be one of the largest on display in the world.

The National Aquarium in Al Qana, Abu Dhabi, is set to open on Friday, November 12
The attraction will house more than 200 sharks and rays that represent more than 25 aquatic species
The new attraction will house the largest collection of sharks and rays in the Middle East
Guests will be able experience live feeding demonstrations with both sharks and rays
As well as hammerhead sharks (pictured), the aquarium will house sand tiger sharks, lemon sharks, zebra sharks and blacktip reef sharks

Sharks, rays and conservation

The new attraction will be home to the UAE's only scalloped hammerhead sharks and bull sharks, as well as sand tiger sharks, lemon sharks, zebra sharks, blacktip reef sharks, eagle rays, shovelnose rays (or guitarfish), cownose rays and freshwater rays, among others.

Guests will be able experience shark encounter, during which they will hand-feed sharks as large as two metres long. There will also be live feeding demonstrations with sharks and rays.

Rehabilitation and conservation will be a primary focus of The National Aquarium. In July 2020, the aquarium signed a five-year partnership with The Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, “with the aim to help create the largest and most innovative rehabilitation schemes of its kind to protect and rehabilitate wildlife in the emirate of Abu Dhabi".

Al Qana: Abu Dhabi's new waterfront destination

The waterfront destination spans 2.4 kilometres and is set to be complete by the end of 2021.

The entertainment and dining hub is home to restaurants and cafes and children's recreation centres, as well as the aquarium, which will be its main attraction.

Located on the Khor Al Maqta waterway, Al Qana is spread across seven zones.

Visitors will have access to restaurants spanning the waterfront, offering a prime view of Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.

It also features scenic walkways, while entertainment options include cinemas, a children's area, an outdoor skatepark and landscaped community spaces.

Al Qana also has a yacht marina, an e-sports and gaming zone, a wellness hub and virtual-reality park.

Tickets start at Dh105. For more information, visit thenationalaquarium.ae

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UAE megaprojects 2021

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Abu Dhabi's National Aquarium to open on Friday in Al Qana

It is the region's biggest aquarium, home to 46,000 creatures across 10 zones

Sharks, rays and conservation

Al Qana: Abu Dhabi's new waterfront destination

UAE megaprojects 2021