New bike paths will be built in Dubai's Barsha 1 and 2 districts in the latest stage of the city's cycling network.
Work on the tracks will start this autumn and the project is scheduled to be finished about 12 months later, the Roads and Transport Authority said on Sunday.
The agency is also assessing building cycling paths in eight other districts: Al Ras, Al Bateen, Al Daghaya, Eyal Nasser, Al Souq Al Kabeer, Hor Al Anz, Abu Hail and Al Sabkha.
The aim is to have cycling tracks in 29 city districts by the end of 2026.
Dubai has been pressing ahead with its goal to promote the city as a cyclists' haven, with plans to expand the tracks from 463 kilometres to 759km by 2026 in line with the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan.
There are more than 20 dedicated cycling tracks in areas such as Downtown Dubai, Dubai Water Canal, Al Sufouh, Dubai Marina, Jumeirah Beach Road, Al Quoz, Oud Metha, Expo 2020 Dubai and Nad Al Sheba, to name a few.
There are also almost 800 bicycles available to rent from more than 70 bike rental stations in areas from JLT to Barsha Heights and Downtown Dubai to Al Karama.
Across the city, there are closed-loop circuits, as well as public tracks that extend through entire neighbourhoods. There are also special cycling lanes in several public parks, including Al Barsha Pond Park, Mushrif Park and the Quranic Park.
“The expansion is [based on] the excellent results of the initial phase of the project, which covered Al Qusais 1, Al Mankhool and Al Karama," said Mattar Al Tayer, director general and chairman of RTA's board of executive directors.
"The number of cycling trips at Al Qusais 1 doubled from 1,173 journeys in 2020 to 2,346 journeys in 2021.
"During the same period, the number of cycling trips increased by 23 per cent in Karama and 12 per cent in Mankhool."
Here are eight popular cycling spots in Dubai
Al Qudra
The longest cycling track in Dubai is in Al Qudra and this is where you will spot professional athletes alongside amateur cyclists. Surrounded by desert vistas, the 135km track spans from Al Barari to Bab Al Shams along Al Qudra Street.
There are two paths here: a shorter 18km one, plus a 50km path.
Bikes are available to rent.
Hatta
Mountain bikers will want to head to Hatta, where a dedicated 52km trail has four different levels for cyclists of varying abilities.
Bikes and other essentials are also available to hire.
Nad Al Sheba
This former camel track now offers cyclist 13km of pathway, with views of Downtown Dubai and Burj Khalifa.
It is located near to the Meydan Racecourse and features 4km, 6km and 8km loops, with a track for children, too.
The Dubai Autodrome
It may be a motorsport venue, but Dubai Autodrome in Motor City also offers a private 2.4km circuit that is suitable for beginners and veterans alike.
Al Khawaneej
A 19km bike track connects Al Khawaneej community to the Mushrif Park pathway.
Jumeirah
Bikers can head to Jumeirah Beach, where a recently completed 16km track extends alongside the shoreline, connecting the existing Jumeirah Street bike path that runs parallel to the Dubai Water Canal and the track in Dubai Internet City.
Expo 2020 Dubai
More than 10km of cycling tracks were designed specifically for travelling around Expo 2020 Dubai and 230 bicycles are available to rent across 23 stations on the site, with more than 160 shaded bike stops in the area. These can be booked through the Careem Bike App.
Mushrif National Park
The first phase of a project to build a 50km sand bike track in Mushrif National Park has been completed. The track, which currently spans 20km, is set amid the area's foliage-filled forest, where there are about 70,000 trees.
Sheikh Hamdan cycles through Mushrif National Park - in pictures
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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.”
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
