Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority Launches Dhs1.1bn Smart City Project

Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA) launched its first integrated smart city project, worth Dhs1.1 billion, on Sunday.

The project will be built within Dubai Silicon Oasis and will span an area of 150,000 square metres, the company said in a statement.

The Silicon Park project comprises 97,000 square metres of office space, 25,000 square metres of commercial space and around 20,000 square metres of residential space along with a 115-room business hotel. It will also have other amenities including running tracks, cycling trails, a shopping centre, prayer rooms and underground parking for 2,500 cars.

In addition, electricity-powered vehicles and smart rechargeable bikes will be the primary means of transportation in the tech park, DSO said. A number of charging stations for electric vehicles will also be set up across the area and will be made easily accessible to visitors and residents.

“Work has commenced, and the project will be completed by Q4 of 2017,” said Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman, DSOA.

He added that Silicon Park will use green building material and will apply measures to achieve efficiency in energy consumption.

“Silicon Park is characterised by its buildings topped with green roofs, which will include plants and trees that require minimal irrigation and utilise the direct sunlight on the buildings,” said Sheikh Ahmed.

“The smart street light poles will be equipped with digital signboards that can be remotely controlled through an application.

“The project will implement advanced technologies to support controlling water consumption through recycling procedures at homes and offices for re-use in irrigation to minimise the ecological impact on the carbon footprint,” he said.

The park will also feature charging docks for smart devices on the street along with free wi-fi in its premises for its residents and visitors.

“Development projects can be described as ‘smart’ when they can provide a quality living and work environment and a wise management of natural resources,” said Mohammed Alzarooni, vice-chairman and chief executive officer of DSOA.

“The ‘Silicon Park’ project is a true example of what the future will be like in live-work environments connected to the internet and smart applications.”

Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammad bin Rashid Al Maktoum recently announced a strategy for the ambitious ‘Smart City’ initiative launched by the emirate last year.

The strategy includes 100 initiatives in transport, communications, infrastructure, electricity, economic services and urban planning. It also calls for 1000 government services to go ‘smart’ in the next three years, reported official news agency WAM.