News

Dubai Unveils Plans For Climate-Controlled Cycling Highway

The city aims to promote walking and cycling as primary modes of transport for residents by 2040.

Published

4 years ago

February 1, 2023

Nour Nasir

dubai unveils plans for climate-controlled cycling highway

URB

When it comes to sustainable modes of transport, countries like the Netherlands have it pretty easy with their temperate climates. On the other hand, the sweltering heat of the Middle East isn’t ideal for cycling or walking to the office.

Arab countries, therefore, need to think outside the box when implementing sustainable (think car-free) forms of transportation, especially if they aim to meet emissions targets as we head toward 2030 and beyond.

A recent announcement by Dubai authorities provides a glimpse into a different green future. City planners have recently unveiled a 93-km climate-controlled cycling highway, named The Loop, with the aim of making cycling and walking to work feasible for up to 80% of residents by the year 2040.

Dubai-based sustainable developer URB is leading the project, and the route will feature a “climate-controlled all-year environment” to make walking and cycling more viable for residents, in line with the Emirate’s 20-minute city initiative.

Also Read: Toothpick Is Aiming To Digitize Dentalcare In The UAE & Beyond

The elaborate cycle track is currently still at the R&D stage but is already set to feature leisure and community spaces along its length, providing “an enjoyable mode of sustainable transport, no matter the weather conditions,” the development team said in a recent statement.

In November 2022, URB won two contracts for cycling paths in Dubai’s Al Khawaneej and Mushrif, which form part of a 278-km cycling masterplan for the region. The team will use their experience to develop the new climate-controlled urban highway.

News

Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict

Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.

Published

4 days ago

September 24, 2026

Nour Nasir

Microsoft

Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.

“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.

The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.

The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.

Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.

Also Read: Egypt’s Mobile Wallets Are Booming, But Cash Still Has Power

The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.

So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.