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Abu Dhabi To Use Drones For Transporting Medical Supplies

Abu Dhabi’s drone delivery system is planned to become operational in 2022.

Published

4 years ago

September 24, 2021

David Morelo

abu dhabi to use drones for transporting medical supplies

Matternet

It doesn’t take much for any road to turn into a long parking lot — a single car crash usually does the trick quite reliably. Being stuck in traffic sucks when traveling to or from work, but even a relatively minor traffic jam can have grave consequences when it involves the transportation of medical supplies.

But do you know where traffic jams are a very rare occurrence? In the sky. That’s why Abu Dhabi’s Department of Health is working with the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority and two drone companies to create a new drone delivery system capable of delivering medical supplies between 40 stations across Abu Dhabi.

One of the two drone companies helping make the project happen is the Abu Dhabi-based drone logistics company SkyGo, and the other company is Matternet, a California-based technology platform for urban aerial delivery.

SkyGo brings to the table its in-depth knowledge of the Abu Dhabi healthcare landscape and expertise in logistics and distribution in the Gulf region, while Matternet has extensive real-world experience with commercial Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS) flying.

“We are seeing Matternet’s vision of building city-wide drone transportation infrastructure come to fruition in Abu Dhabi,” said Andreas Raptopoulos, Matternet’s CEO. “This will be a model for the rest of the world on how to successfully scale drone delivery for the benefit of healthcare and society overall”.

Also Read: UAE To Unleash Hordes Of Cloud-Triggering Drones

Abu Dhabi’s drone delivery system is planned to become operational in 2022. When it does, it will make Abu Dhabi the first city in the MENA region to use drones in healthcare logistics.

The United Arab Emirates has experimented with several different applications of drones in the past, using them to reduce response time to criminal and traffic reports or to spur rainfall in the desert.

Related Topics:Abu Dhabi United Arab Emirates

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Saudi EV Adoption Accelerates With BYD Expansion & Tesla Launch

Saudi Arabia’s EV market is gaining momentum as BYD plans major showroom growth and Tesla establishes a foothold in Riyadh.

Published

2 days ago

July 16, 2025

Nour Nasir

saudi ev adoption accelerates with byd expansion and tesla launch

Saudi Arabia’s ambitions to become a regional hub for electric mobility are drawing greater investment from global automakers. As part of Vision 2030, the Kingdom is targeting 30% electric vehicle (EV) adoption in the capital, Riyadh, by the end of the decade — an objective that’s now shaping the strategic interests of international EV brands.

Chinese manufacturer BYD is planning a substantial thrust into the Saudi market, building on its current footprint of three showrooms. According to Jerome Saigot, BYD’s managing director in the Kingdom, the company aims to open 10 showrooms by the end of 2026.

“Saudi Arabia is a complex market. You need to go fast. You need to think big,” Saigot recently told reporters. “We are not here to stay at 5,000 or 10,000 cars a year”.

The announcement follows Tesla’s entry into the Saudi EV space, with the US automaker opening its first showroom in Riyadh in April. Tesla joins early players like BYD and Geely in what remains a nascent but strategically important segment for the Kingdom.

The Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) has also ramped up its electric mobility agenda. Its efforts include major investments in Lucid Motors, the creation of local EV brand Ceer, and support for the rollout of national charging infrastructure.

Also Read: Twitch Launches Arabic Right-To-Left Interface For Web & Mobile

However, electric vehicles still only account for just over 1% of total car sales in Saudi Arabia, according to data from PwC cited by Bloomberg. Key challenges include high upfront costs, limited public charging access, and the added complexity of operating in extreme heat conditions.

In spite of those hurdles, Saigot views Tesla’s entry as a net positive. “The more Tesla communicates on marketing, the better it is for us,” he said. Saigot joined BYD in April, having previously held executive roles at Nissan and Great Wall Motor.

With multiple brands scaling up activity in parallel — and government-backed infrastructure investment underway — Saudi Arabia’s EV sector appears set for rapid acceleration over the next few years.