Middle East & North Africa

To connect cities along the Nile with the Red and Mediterranean seas, Egypt has launched a €8.1 billion megaproject to build the sixth-largest rail network in the world from scratch—spanning 41 high-speed trains, 94 regional trains, 41 freight trains, eight depots and freight stations, and 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) of rail lines across the country. Project partners include Egypt’s National Authority for Tunnels, local construction firms Orascom Construction and The Arab Contractors, and Siemens Mobility. And though the full network isn’t slated to be completed until 2027, its influence may be felt much sooner. As Siemens Mobility CEO Turnkey Christoph Götz says, the high-speed rail “will offer a blueprint for the region on how to install an integrated, sustainable and modern transportation system.”

Ecommerce, it’s often lamented, has ushered in the slow death of the shopping mall. Well, not if Emirates developer Majid Al Futtaim has anything to say about it—joining forces with U.S. tech giant Cisco to create a new kind of brick-and-mortar retail space. Staking out a prime spot at Dubai’s Mall of the Emirates, Store of the Future opened in January, awash in next-gen sensors, cameras and AI tech, welcoming each guest and collecting data throughout their journey to respond with customized recommendations and interactions. And to make sure those experiences never feel stale, the developer shares data with the rotating band of brands occupying the space—offering insights on everything from dwell times and footfall heatmaps to sentiment analysis and store capacity.

The world may soon witness the first-ever extended space visit by a resident of an Arab nation. As part of SpaceX’s Crew-6 mission, Sultan AlNeyadi, an astronaut from the United Arab Emirates—handpicked from the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre—will fly to the International Space Station (ISS) and remain there for a six-month stay. Announced in July and scheduled for early 2023, the mission will be focused on intensive scientific research projects. To prepare for the trip, AlNeyadi completed 1,400 hours of training in four different countries, navigating high-pressure simulations of everything from an ammonia leak within the ISS to an emergency landing of the capsule. Only one other Emirati has visited space: Hazza Al Mansoori, who stayed at the ISS for eight days—making AlNeyadi’s mission a notable step to greater inclusion.

What would it be like to live within a kaleidoscope? Attendees of the February LEAP technology conference in Riyadh were able to answer that trippy question firsthand with Leapscape, a project by entertainment architecture firm Stufish. Billed as the world’s largest walk-through kaleidoscope, it was made from tensioned mirror foil and LED tiles. As visitors entered triangular-shaped openings at either end, they were greeted with nature imagery layered with digital effects and intercut with slowly expanding geometric patterns that reflected off the mirrors in a seamless, warp-less experience—taking the term “immersive” to entirely new levels. To ensure the intense visuals had the desired effect (and didn’t induce nausea), the team used software modeling and virtual-reality headsets during the project’s design phase.

Located on the outskirts of Saudi Arabia’s capital city of Riyadh, the SAR64 billion Diriyah Gate is meant to showcase the destination’s past, present and future—blending 300 years of culture and heritage with high-end retail, residential living and education experiences. One major mission of the project: restore At-Turaif, a UNESCO World Heritage site of mud-brick palaces that dates back to 1766. Project plans call for new construction to surround the existing complex, placing it at the heart of the new development. It’s a wildly audacious project but Diriyah Gate Development Authority and its subsidiary, DevCo, already cracked one major logistics conundrum last year: threading the project’s critical infrastructure through an existing urban community.

Governments the world over are pursuing ambitious projects to beat back the climate toll of urban living. But project leaders in Cairo have set their sights far higher: building the world’s first climate-positive city. Unveiled in March by Dubai developer URB, the masterplan for Nexgen spans 580 hectares (1,433 acres) and includes self-sustaining plans for food and energy production as well as water use to support 35,000 residents. The city is projected to actually produce more food and energy than it consumes, helping establish the made-from-scratch metropolis as “the next evolution in sustainable cities,” says URB CEO Baharash Bagherian.

Before her death in 2016, renowned architect Zaha Hadid designed some of the world’s most iconic buildings. One of her final projects debuted in March: the new HQ of Middle Eastern waste management company Beeah Group in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. Like all of Hadid’s works, it’s a masterpiece of form and function. As executed by her eponymously named studio, a gently sloping, dune-shaped campus ingeniously harnesses (and deflects) energy from the city’s blistering desert sun. And the net-zero building boasts a solar farm and a climate-controlling smart management system, too. The company has declared the AI-infused structures “one of the most sustainable and smartest buildings in the world.”

A US$40 million joint venture between ag-tech startup Crop One Holdings and Emirates Flight Catering, Emirates Crop One claims the title of world’s largest vertical farm. But the team has bigger ambitions than mere size—it uses an AI-powered closed-loop water recycling system capable of growing 2 million pounds (907,185 kilograms) of fresh produce annually, with 95 percent less water than field-grown fruits and veggies. That tech-fueled operating system could transform food production, both in the United Arab Emirates (where nearly 90 percent of food is imported because of limited arable land and an acute water shortage) and beyond.

Dubai has a rep for mind-blowing architecture—and the new Infinity Bridge doesn’t disappoint. Soaring 42 meters (137 feet) high, its arch was inspired by the mathematical symbol for infinity and is meant to symbolize Dubai’s unlimited ambitions. But it also answers a far more practical need for the Roads and Transport Authority: cutting commute time in the Middle Eastern tourism and business hub. “The roads and transport sector is critical not only to accelerating economic growth but also enhancing the wellbeing of the community,” said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, VP and prime minister of UAE and ruler of Dubai. To stay on schedule, Six Construct focused on efficiencies, like working with crane service providers Mammoet and Aertssen to perform tandem lifts to place the structure’s middle segments. And the four-year, US$107.2 million project is already delivering results: Since the bridge opened in January, it’s helped improve morning travel time in the area by 73 percent.reflection. The result? A calming (and some would argue healing) oasis, nestled into the bustling capital.

It’s no mirage. In a region known for deserts, Qiddiya Investment Co. is daring to build not just the first water park in Saudi Arabia, but the largest one in the Middle East. The 252,000-square-meter (2.7-million-square-foot) facility will span nine themed zones and offer 23 rides—seven of them with world-first proclamations. To lessen the SAR$2.8 billion water park’s footprint, the project team is putting conservation front and center. It’s estimated some rides will use 75 percent less water than their conventional counterparts, thanks to rainwater-capture systems and innovative ride design. And that impact could extend across the industry: Scott Demerau, executive chairman of Falcon’s Beyond, developer of the park’s masterplan, says the sustainability approach “will set a new standard for future parks, benefiting the world around us.”