The RTA announced plans to open the new bridge in July. Photo: Dubai Media Office
The RTA announced plans to open the new bridge in July. Photo: Dubai Media Office
The RTA announced plans to open the new bridge in July. Photo: Dubai Media Office
The RTA announced plans to open the new bridge in July. Photo: Dubai Media Office

News

UAE

Dubai opens bridge connecting Sheikh Zayed Road to Mall of the Emirates

Key transport link is part of Dh165 million project aimed at easing congestion in one of emirate’s busiest areas

The National

January 12, 2025

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Dubai on Sunday opened a 300-metre bridge connecting Sheikh Zayed Road to the Mall of the Emirates in support of a major drive to cut congestion in one of the busiest districts of the emirate.

The transport link will provide direct access to the popular shopping centre and aims to half travel times, Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority said on Sunday.

More than 40 million visitors annually visit the Mall of the Emirates, which opened in 2005. It has 454 shops, 96 restaurants and cafes, and entertainment venues such as Ski Dubai.

The venue is in the heart of Al Barsha, a densely populated area of Dubai which has long been a traffic hotspot.

The authority said the new bridge would offer “direct access to the Mall of the Emirates for those coming from Umm Suqeim Street, heading west towards Sheikh Zayed Road southbound”.

It is part of a wider Dh165 million project – due to be completed by the end of this year – which will also see pedestrian and cycling lanes upgraded.

Officials hope the plan will cut travel time for motorists coming from the direction of Jebel Ali from 10 minutes to one minute, and from 15 minutes to eight minutes from Umm Suqeim.

The authority is leading a comprehensive road-building strategy to help ensure Dubai's infrastructure can keep pace with population growth.

Dubai's population passed 3.5 million in 2022 and now stands at more than 3.83 million.

The Dubai Government is set to invest heavily in infrastructure in the years ahead as it sets its sights on growing its population to 5.8 million by 2040.

In October, Dubai unveiled its largest government budget for 2025-2027, with spending of Dh272 billion ($74 billion).

In 2025 alone, expenditure is set at Dh86.26 billion, with 46 per cent to be spent on infrastructure, including roads, bridges, transportation systems and renewable energy centres, as well as the announced Al Maktoum Airport development.

'The Batman'

Stars:Robert Pattinson

Director:Matt Reeves

Rating: 5/5

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What is the Supreme Petroleum Council?

The Abu Dhabi Supreme Petroleum Council was established in 1988 and is the highest governing body in Abu Dhabi’s oil and gas industry. The council formulates, oversees and executes the emirate’s petroleum-related policies. It also approves the allocation of capital spending across state-owned Adnoc’s upstream, downstream and midstream operations and functions as the company’s board of directors. The SPC’s mandate is also required for auctioning oil and gas concessions in Abu Dhabi and for awarding blocks to international oil companies. The council is chaired by Sheikh Khalifa, the President and Ruler of Abu Dhabi while Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, is the vice chairman.

The Indo-Pacific

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.”

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Updated: January 13, 2025, 8:38 AM
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