• Skypods (elevated electric vehicles) capable of travelling at 500km per hour have been unveiled at the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park. All photos by Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Skypods (elevated electric vehicles) capable of travelling at 500km per hour have been unveiled at the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park. All photos by Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Cargo and passenger pods move along a high-tension string rail at speeds of 500km per hour.
    Cargo and passenger pods move along a high-tension string rail at speeds of 500km per hour.
  • Passenger pods come in different sizes and can accommodate up to 75 people at a time.
    Passenger pods come in different sizes and can accommodate up to 75 people at a time.
  • CEO of Unitsky String Technologies in the UAE, Oleg Zaretskiy, demonstrates how the system works at the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park.
    CEO of Unitsky String Technologies in the UAE, Oleg Zaretskiy, demonstrates how the system works at the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park.
  • Passenger pods are fitted out with luxurious leather padded seats, air conditioning and TV screens.
    Passenger pods are fitted out with luxurious leather padded seats, air conditioning and TV screens.
  • High tension string rail lines offer a safe method of high speed travel using Unitsky String Technology's patented Prestressed Track Structure (PTS).
    High tension string rail lines offer a safe method of high speed travel using Unitsky String Technology's patented Prestressed Track Structure (PTS).
  • A 400metre test track will begin carrying passengers in March 2021.
    A 400metre test track will begin carrying passengers in March 2021.
  • A UST passenger station at the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park.
    A UST passenger station at the Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park.
  • The innovative transport system developed by UST is cheaper and more sustainable than conventional metro rail travel.
    The innovative transport system developed by UST is cheaper and more sustainable than conventional metro rail travel.
  • Relay points are planted 7.5 metres into the desert for the elevated electric transport system.
    Relay points are planted 7.5 metres into the desert for the elevated electric transport system.
  • Another 2km test track is due to open at the SRTI Park in May.
    Another 2km test track is due to open at the SRTI Park in May.
  • An anti-derailment system with several braking points ensures pods are safe in an emergency.
    An anti-derailment system with several braking points ensures pods are safe in an emergency.

Watch: Sharjah to open UAE’s first high-speed sky pod network


Nick Webster
  • English
  • Arabic

Sharjah has unveiled the UAE’s first high-speed electric sky pod network.

Unitsky String Technologies of Belarus is building a 2km suspended track at Sharjah Research, Technology and Innovation Park.

Designed in Belarus by Anatoli Unitsky, a scientist and member of the Russian Cosmonautics Federation, the sustainable electric elevated transportation system could be carrying its first passengers within weeks.

Unitsky String Technology could be used anywhere in the world over sea land or even in the mountains

A development site at the park already has a working 400-metre track that carries a suspended pod built to withstand the extreme Middle East climate.

This pilot project is expected to start carrying passengers in luxury pods from March this year.

Another 2km test track is due to open at the park in May. And within three years, a 130km sky track from Sharjah to Khor Fakkan port could be operational to transport freight.

The track will allow suspended pods hanging on a super-strong string rail to travel at a speed of 500kph once a full-length line is open.

Oleg Zaretskiy, UST's chief executive in the UAE, said the cost of building the network was comparable or cheaper than laying new roads and required vastly less maintenance over time.

“From a distance, it may look like a cable car - but it is light-years away,” he said.

“Ropes and rolling wheels restrict that format to low speeds because of friction and load. This Unitsky String Technology is more like a railroad, with wheels rolling on a rail," he said.

“There is steel-to-steel friction so it means it consumes much less energy than cars. It is a power-saving solution, with an electrical motor that can be operated partly by solar or wind energy.”

The project is supported by the Sharjah Government.

A test site is operational in Belarus at the Echotechnopark in Maryina Gorka.

By taking the pods aerial, land is preserved for green open spaces and development for retail and residential real estate.

The rail itself has guaranteed durability of 100 years and avoids corrosion by encasing eight pre-stressed wires inside a polymer solution to protect it from harsh environments.

An ‘urban light’ track can carry pods of up to 14 passengers at speeds of 150kph, while larger carriages transport passengers in either 48 or 75 capacity pods at 500kph.

If a track was laid between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the travel time would be reduced to less than 20 minutes.

Cargo pods can carry up to 25 tonnes at a time, at 130kph, greatly reducing the need for heavy goods vehicles clogging up roads.

“Comparisons with a metro system are difficult, as the price of cement varies greatly around the world so construction can be very expensive,” said Mr Zaretskiy.

“The UST system is much more flexible in route alignment, so is considerably cheaper.”

The company claims its operating costs are less than half of conventional railway transport and a third of the costs of building and maintaining a road of a similar distance.

It is also considerably cheaper to build and operate than a magnetic levitation system, such as a Hyperloop or a monorail, the company claimed.

“We don't need to build roads or demolish houses like when developing other infrastructure, so we can bring this transport system very close to people’s homes.

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“In cities where land is very expensive, this is a great solution.”

Construction costs for an overpass with conventional supports is around $100 million a kilometre, but the UST system costs are $10m a kilometre, said the company.

Pods have luxurious interiors, with leather seats, air-conditioning, television screens and a panoramic view of the surroundings.

Rails can run cargo pods above and passenger capsules below a track. Industrial blowers attached to the pods ensure rails remain clear of sand and debris.

An anti-derailment system with several braking points ensures pods are safe in an emergency.

Electric emergency batteries are partially powered by renewable energy, making its carbon footprint lower than traditional transport systems.

“This technology could be used anywhere in the world, over sea, land or even in the mountains,” said Mr Zaretskiy.

“It would be ideal for somewhere like the World Islands in Dubai where guests could be transported easily from the mainland to hotels.

“This is the future of transport.”

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm

Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km

Price: from Dh94,900

On sale: now

The Way It Was: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Eliot Weisman and Jennifer Valoppi
Hachette Books

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Abu Dhabi World Pro 2019 remaining schedule:

Wednesday April 24: Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, 11am-6pm

Thursday April 25:  Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, 11am-5pm

Friday April 26: Finals, 3-6pm

Saturday April 27: Awards ceremony, 4pm and 8pm

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.

Based: Riyadh

Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany

Founded: September, 2020

Number of employees: 70

Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions

Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds  

Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices

The biog

Marital status: Separated with two young daughters

Education: Master's degree from American Univeristy of Cairo

Favourite book: That Is How They Defeat Despair by Salwa Aladian

Favourite Motto: Their happiness is your happiness

Goal: For Nefsy to become his legacy long after he is gon

THE SPECS

Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder

Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)

Power: 141bhp 

Torque: 250Nm 

Price: Dh64,500

On sale: Now

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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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Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.


- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law 

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Tickets

Tickets start at Dh100 for adults, while children can enter free on the opening day. For more information, visit www.mubadalawtc.com.

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