• The late president Sheikh Khalifa returns a pair of scissors he used to cut the ceremonial ribbon symbolising the formal opening of the Sheikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi, on November 28, 2010. Photo: Wam
    The late president Sheikh Khalifa returns a pair of scissors he used to cut the ceremonial ribbon symbolising the formal opening of the Sheikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi, on November 28, 2010. Photo: Wam
  • Sheikh Zayed Bridge under construction on August 8, 2008. Stephen Lock/The National
    Sheikh Zayed Bridge under construction on August 8, 2008. Stephen Lock/The National
  • The bridge under construction in Abu Dhabi on March 4, 2009. Designed by Zaha Hadid, the bridge took seven years to build. Sammy Dallal/The National
    The bridge under construction in Abu Dhabi on March 4, 2009. Designed by Zaha Hadid, the bridge took seven years to build. Sammy Dallal/The National
  • Work under way on the main arch of Sheikh Zayed Bridge on October 14, 2009. Jaime Puebla/The National
    Work under way on the main arch of Sheikh Zayed Bridge on October 14, 2009. Jaime Puebla/The National
  • Construction on the arches of Sheikh Zayed Bridge on April 28, 2010. They required more than 12,000 tonnes of steel and 250,000 cubic metres of concrete. Jaime Puebla/The National
    Construction on the arches of Sheikh Zayed Bridge on April 28, 2010. They required more than 12,000 tonnes of steel and 250,000 cubic metres of concrete. Jaime Puebla/The National
  • The bridge on October 11, 2010, a day before it was set to open on October 12, 2010. The National
    The bridge on October 11, 2010, a day before it was set to open on October 12, 2010. The National
  • The Sheikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi in its final stage of construction. The National
    The Sheikh Zayed Bridge in Abu Dhabi in its final stage of construction. The National
  • The bridge pictured a month before it officially opened. It has three arches and four traffic lanes on each side. Rich-Joseph Facun/The National
    The bridge pictured a month before it officially opened. It has three arches and four traffic lanes on each side. Rich-Joseph Facun/The National
  • Final touches are carried out on Sheikh Zayed Bridge a month from its inauguration. Rich-Joseph Facun/The National
    Final touches are carried out on Sheikh Zayed Bridge a month from its inauguration. Rich-Joseph Facun/The National
  • One of the three arches of Sheikh Zayed Bridge, inspired by the sand dunes of the desert and waves beneath. Pictured in October 2010, just before the bridge opened to traffic. Lee Hoagland/The National
    One of the three arches of Sheikh Zayed Bridge, inspired by the sand dunes of the desert and waves beneath. Pictured in October 2010, just before the bridge opened to traffic. Lee Hoagland/The National
  • Sheikh Zayed Bridge in October 2010. The design, by Zaha Hadid, was a challenge to build. Lee Hoagland/The National
    Sheikh Zayed Bridge in October 2010. The design, by Zaha Hadid, was a challenge to build. Lee Hoagland/The National
  • Sheikh Zayed Bridge in October 2010. The bridge took seven years to complete after a brief pause in construction in 2008. Lee Hoagland/The National
    Sheikh Zayed Bridge in October 2010. The bridge took seven years to complete after a brief pause in construction in 2008. Lee Hoagland/The National
  • Workers on the bridge on October 24, 2010. Lee Hoagland/ The National
    Workers on the bridge on October 24, 2010. Lee Hoagland/ The National
  • Sheikh Zayed Bridge was inaugurated by the late president Sheikh Khalifa with Queen Elizabeth II of the UK in attendance. Lee Hoagland/The National
    Sheikh Zayed Bridge was inaugurated by the late president Sheikh Khalifa with Queen Elizabeth II of the UK in attendance. Lee Hoagland/The National

How the 'most complicated bridge' was built in Abu Dhabi


James Langton
  • English
  • Arabic

They are some of the buildings that define the UAE. But what is the story behind them? In the second part of our summer series celebrating the country’s architecture, we look into how the landmark Sheikh Zayed Bridge, designed by Iraqi architect Zaha Hadid, was built.

Seventy years ago this year, workers finished pouring hundreds of tonnes of rocks and concrete into the waters of the Maqta narrows. Finally it was possible to cross from the island of Abu Dhabi to the mainland without getting your feet wet.

The Maqta Causeway might have seemed crude and visually unappealing, but for the next decade and a half it remained the only way to reach the interior of the UAE that was not subjected to the tides.

As Abu Dhabi grew from little more than a fishing village to a burgeoning city, the causeway was replaced in 1968 with the steel span and tarmac of the Maqta Bridge.

Even this would eventually prove inadequate. The Musaffah Bridge was built in 1977, and in 2000, a second span was added to the Maqta Bridge, effectively doubling its capacity.

And still the city grew. In 1997, looking to the future, the city commissioned a third bridge that would meet the demands of traffic until well into the 21st century. It would take another 13 years to complete.

To be called the Sheikh Zayed Bridge, it would cross the Maqta at the eastern entrance to the Arabian Gulf in a single span, connecting to the six-lane motorway to Dubai. The Eastern Corniche — now known as Al Gurm Corniche — would be expanded and widened, and a new stretch of motorway completed from Shahama.

The architect chosen was the brilliant if unconventional Zaha Hadid, born in Baghdad and then a British citizen. As Artichoke magazine noted a year after its opening in 2010: “The bridge bears all the usual hallmarks of Hadid’s work: structural challenges, phenomenal delays and an iconic final result.”

Zaha Hadid designed Sheikh Zayed Bridge, taking inspiration from the surrounding landscape and her childhood in Baghdad. Photo: AP
Zaha Hadid designed Sheikh Zayed Bridge, taking inspiration from the surrounding landscape and her childhood in Baghdad. Photo: AP

Hadid, who died of a heart attack aged 56 in 2016, had her own vision of the project. It began, she explained, with a study of the landscape and environment of the site.

“We draw certain lines of connections with the local environment and use these to inform our design. This ‘embeds’ the design into its surroundings so that each project has the strongest possible relationship with its unique context.

“We are not thinking so much of metaphor, but more in terms of analogy — the landscape analogy — where features of a natural landscape are expressed within the architectural design.”

There were influences, also, of her childhood in Baghdad. “When I was a child, we used to take along picnics for trips to the ruins of Samarra where the Tigris and Euphrates meet in southern Iraq.

“You stand there, and there is timelessness. You see the rivers and trees and you know that 10,000 years ago it was like that. There was this amazing flow between the land and the water that extended to incorporate the buildings and the people.

“I think that perhaps what I am trying to do is capture that kind of seamlessness and flow in an urban architectural context.”

The result was effectively an arch bridge, with a suspended deck supported by a series of dramatic sweeping curves that echoed desert sand dunes above and the waves of the Gulf below. It was visually stunning — but only on paper at that point.

Construction began in 2003. The bridge would be 852 metres long, nearly twice that of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, rising to a height of 64m. Those dramatic steel arches required 12,000 tonnes of steel and 250,000 cubic metres of concrete to be poured above and below ground.

The work was carried out mainly by Archirodon Construction, although late in the project Six Construction took over. For the first three years, workers toiled to drive piles and lay the foundations. It was, some claimed, the most complicated bridge ever built.

The first sections of arch rose in 2006, but work stalled during the financial crisis of 2008, leaving them hanging over empty space.

Construction under way on Sheikh Zayed Bridge on March 4, 2009. Sammy Dallal / The National
Construction under way on Sheikh Zayed Bridge on March 4, 2009. Sammy Dallal / The National

Roy Lengweiler, a Swiss-born project manager for Archiroden, saw first-hand the extraordinary physical labour required to realise Hadid’s vision.

“I would like everyone to appreciate the hard work of these people and to give them the credit they deserve,” he told The National in 2010. “Once the bridge is finished or, indeed, if you look at it now, it is difficult to comprehend the scale of what has been constructed.”

A decade later, he reflected the bridge was “unparalleled in complexity”.

The architecture, though, is only part of the bridge’s “wow” factor. As far back at 1998, it was decided that lighting would play a major part of its appearance after dark.

Roger van der Heide, a Dutch lighting designer, was brought in to work with Hadid, although it would be 13 years before his vision became reality.

The result, though, was spectacular. Six hundred automatic lights bathe the bridge in an ever-changing palate of colour described as a “language of light” that represents the people and culture of the UAE. At every new moon, it is coloured deep blue, like the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.

The bridge was officially opened on November 25, 2010, by the late president Sheikh Khalifa, and attended by the UK's Queen Elizabeth II, who was on her second state visit to the UAE. Traffic flowed for the first time three days later.

Eight decades after the first humble crossing of the Maqta channel, it will be a tough act to follow.

A version of this article was first published on July 24, 2022

The specs

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Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

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UAE WARRIORS RESULTS

Featherweight

Azouz Anwar (EGY) beat Marcelo Pontes (BRA)

TKO round 2

Catchweight 90kg

Moustafa Rashid Nada (KSA) beat Imad Al Howayeck (LEB)

Split points decision

Welterweight

Gimbat Ismailov (RUS) beat Mohammed Al Khatib (JOR)

TKO round 1

Flyweight (women)

Lucie Bertaud (FRA) beat Kelig Pinson (BEL)

Unanimous points decision

Lightweight

Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) beat Regelo Enumerables Jr (PHI)

TKO round 1

Catchweight 100kg

Marc Vleiger (NED) beat Mohamed Ali (EGY)

Rear neck choke round 1

Featherweight

James Bishop (NZ) beat Mark Valerio (PHI)

TKO round 2

Welterweight

Abdelghani Saber (EGY) beat Gerson Carvalho (BRA)

TKO round 1

Middleweight

Bakhtiyar Abbasov (AZE) beat Igor Litoshik (BLR)

Unanimous points decision

Bantamweight

Fabio Mello (BRA) beat Mark Alcoba (PHI)

Unanimous points decision

Welterweight

Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Magomedsultan Magomedsultanov (RUS)

TKO round 1

Bantamweight

Trent Girdham (AUS) beat Jayson Margallo (PHI)

TKO round 3

Lightweight

Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) beat Roman Golovinov (UKR)

TKO round 1

Middleweight

Tarek Suleiman (SYR) beat Steve Kennedy (AUS)

Submission round 2

Lightweight

Dan Moret (USA) v Anton Kuivanen (FIN)

TKO round 2

COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Alaan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Parthi%20Duraisamy%20and%20Karun%20Kurien%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%247%20million%20raised%20in%20total%20%E2%80%94%20%242.5%20million%20in%20a%20seed%20round%20and%20%244.5%20million%20in%20a%20pre-series%20A%20round%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
What can you do?

Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses

Seek professional advice from a legal expert

You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor

You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline

In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support

WHAT%20ARE%20THE%20PRODUCTS%20WITHIN%20THE%20THREE%20MAJOR%20CATEGORIES%3F
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAdvanced%20materials%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20specifically%20engineered%20to%20exhibit%20novel%20or%20enhanced%20properties%2C%20that%20confer%20superior%20performance%20relative%20to%20conventional%20materials%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAdvanced%20components%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20includes%20semiconductor%20components%2C%20such%20as%20microprocessors%20and%20other%20computer%20chips%2C%20and%20computer%20vision%20components%20such%20as%20lenses%20and%20image%20sensors%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EAdvanced%20products%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20includes%20personal%20electronics%2C%20smart%20home%20devices%20and%20space%20technologies%2C%20along%20with%20industry-enabling%20products%20such%20as%20robots%2C%203D%20printing%20equipment%20and%20exoskeletons%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3ESource%3A%20Strategy%26amp%3B%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

Day 1 results:

Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)

Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

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White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogenChromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxideUltramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica contentOphiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on landOlivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour

Our legal columnist

Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

How much of your income do you need to save?

The more you save, the sooner you can retire. Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.com, says if you save just 5 per cent of your salary, you can expect to work for another 66 years before you are able to retire without too large a drop in income.

In other words, you will not save enough to retire comfortably. If you save 15 per cent, you can forward to another 43 working years. Up that to 40 per cent of your income, and your remaining working life drops to just 22 years. (see table)

Obviously, this is only a rough guide. How much you save will depend on variables, not least your salary and how much you already have in your pension pot. But it shows what you need to do to achieve financial independence.

 

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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EOlivia%20Newman%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Daisy%20Edgar-Jones%2C%20Taylor%20John%20Smith%2C%20Harris%20Dickinson%2C%20David%20Strathairn%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Four tips to secure IoT networks

Mohammed Abukhater, vice president at FireEye in the Middle East, said:

- Keep device software up-to-date. Most come with basic operating system, so users should ensure that they always have the latest version

- Besides a strong password, use two-step authentication. There should be a second log-in step like adding a code sent to your mobile number

- Usually smart devices come with many unnecessary features. Users should lock those features that are not required or used frequently

- Always create a different guest network for visitors

Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.

Babumoshai Bandookbaaz

Director: Kushan Nandy

Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami

Three stars

INDIA SQUADS

India squad for third Test against Sri Lanka
Virat Kohli (capt), Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Vijay Shankar

India squad for ODI series against Sri Lanka
Rohit Sharma (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul

The specs
  • Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
  • Power: 640hp
  • Torque: 760nm
  • On sale: 2026
  • Price: Not announced yet
Updated: August 14, 2023, 7:25 AM