Masdar City, the carbon-neutral $22 billion development project outside Abu Dhabi, welcomed its first residents as the company creating the city said its completion date would be delayed until at least 2020, four years after its original deadline.

Renewable energy firm Masdar said the first phase would be completed in 2015. It also announced it would bring in renewable power from external sources while the original plan was to use onsite resources.

The city made a comprehensive review of the sustainable development’s master plan. The revisions assure a lowering of costs without compromising on the original mission.

 Initiated earlier this year, the review process was intended to update the master plan and take into account market and technology developments since the original strategy for Masdar City was developed in 2006. In particular, the review sought to capture the knowledge gained through three years of construction and completion of the city’s first buildings as well as take into account changing market conditions and the evolution of technology.

The master plan review highlighted the achievements at Masdar City to date, including the completion of the first six buildings of the Masdar Institute which saw students and faculty moving into the new facility in September.

The institute’s Knowledge Centre, which houses its library, has a curved roof with solar panels, and a front that is almost entirely made up of windows.

The residential units related to the institute use 54 per cent less water and 51 per cent less electricity than the UAE average. As much as 30 per cent of electricity demand is met by rooftop photovoltaic panels and 75 per cent of the buildings’ hot water is provided by rooftop thermal collectors.

‘Journey of discovery’
“From the beginning, Masdar has been engaged in a journey of discovery to create a blueprint for the future of sustainable cities. Our steady progress is being built on our ability to discover the best technologies and approaches to sustainable urban living and to bring them most effectively to Masdar City,” said Dr Sultan Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar. 

“The key is to be flexible and adaptable rather than rigid and dogmatic,” added Dr Al Jaber.

Masdar’s review of the city’s Master Plan detailed key updates to the project’s build-out timeline, sourcing of renewable power and transportation and building infrastructure. Key revisions include:

• Limiting of the Personal Rapid Transport (PRT) system to an ongoing pilot project within the Masdar Institute facilities, while allowing for the possibility of alternative electric vehicle technologies and transport system to be rolled out in the city.

• Limiting the 7.5 m podium and service trench to the Masdar Institute.

• Revised delivery timeline, with the one million sq m Phase 1 now scheduled for completion in 2015 and final build-out by 2020-2025.

• The exploration of new potential sources of power – such as geothermal energy and solar thermal cooling – with a number of pilot projects already underway.

• While still aiming to eventually be powered 100 per cent by renewable energy, Masdar City will no longer rely solely on on-site clean energy sources. Instead, the purchase of renewable energy from off-site locations may also be utilised as energy demands increase over the project’s lifetime.    
                                                      
“Sticking firmly to the scale of our original vision, Masdar is proactive in reviewing and revising our forward plans to embrace new thinking and changing realities across technology advancement, commercial feasibility and the global market,” said Alan Frost, director of Masdar City.

 Masdar City has a total site area of 700 ha or 37 million sq m, of which Phase 1 will cover 59.2 ha and 997 sq m. The city will support a population of 40,000 when finally completed, of which 8,600 will live there in the first phase.

Masdar, a subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company, an investment vehicle of the government of Abu Dhabi, is dedicated to the emirate’s long-term vision for the future of energy.