The otherwise sleepy corridor connecting Abu Dhabi to Dubai is slated for major development, with the potential to create a megalopolis in the coming decades. The UAE capital’s largest logistics firm, AD Ports, has entered a deal worth 2.47 billion dirhams ($672.5 million) with Dubai-based Mira Developments to build a massive mixed-use community, including housing, hotels, golf courses, schools and, of course, a mall.
Today, highway E11 crosses arid farm plots, industrial sites, and not much else. AD Ports’ plan is among several (including the relocation of Dubai’s airport) set to transform the 52-mile stretch of highway that connects Yas Island — home to the Formula 1 circuit and the eventual site for Disneyland Abu Dhabi — to Jebel Ali port in Dubai. Construction will take a decade to be completed, AD Ports said.
