PM Narendra Modi visited Masdar City of Abu Dhabi

Masdar City: Planned City Project of Abu Dhabi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 17 August 2015 visited the Masdar City of Abu Dhabi during his official visit to the UAE. Masdar City, a zero carbon planned city, relies on solar energy and other renewable energy sources. It is situated 17 km from Abu Dhabi.

Masdar City aims to be one of the world's most sustainable urban development powered by renewable energy. It aims to do this by:
• Ensuring a low carbon footprint during and after its construction
• Being completely powered by renewable energy
• Reducing waste to as near to zero as possible, through encouraging changes in behaviour and regulating materials which can be present in the city
• Leading research and education into sustainable technology
• Designing the city streets and buildings to help create comfortable environments reducing the need for air conditioning, heating, and artificial light
• Educating three quarters of the 40000 residents with 5 hours of sustainability education each year
• Leading research at its university to ensure the city retains its sustainable identification and leading knowledge in sustainable living
• Full pedestrianisation within the city, without vehicles in the space. The transport network would be below ground

Designing of the Masdar City
The project is headed by Masdar, a subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company. The project was initiated in 2006 and took approximately eight years to be built. Construction began on Masdar City in 2008 and the first six buildings of the city were completed and occupied in October 2010.

Masdar City has terracotta walls decorated with arabesque patterns. From a distance, the city looks like a cube. The temperature in the streets is generally 15 to 20 °C, cooler than the surrounding desert. The temperature difference is due to Masdar's unique construction.

Transport system of the city
The city bans the use of automobiles in its premises to keep out the hot desert winds. However, the travel in the city is accomplished via Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system, with existing road and railways connecting to other locations outside the city.

Personnel Rapid Transit car is a driver-less vehicle which runs from point to point on magnetic strips.

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