4 ms·

Excuse my ignorance, but don't UAE/Qatar mostly use it to build malls and vanity projects? That's at least the media stereotype I have.

petesergeant 1y ago
There’s no shortage of malls in UAE, but also there’s fantastic infrastructure — great roads, a metro system, a country-wide rail system (open for cargo, opening for passengers soon). As for “vanity projects”, the Palm and both Burj’s are commercial projects that are also highly successful tourist draws. I can see an argument that the Abu Dhabi branches of the Louvre and the Guggenheim could be seen that way, but I think it’s fairer to see them as cultural investments. I guess I see the unfinished projects as being the proof: The World and the 2nd Palm haven’t been finished because they (I assume) stopped making commercial sense to the developers. I would finally note that Dubai specifically has little oil and gas wealth. Maybe 1% directly and 10% that comes as subsidy from AD which has plenty. The rest is literally just a combination of smart and commercially savvy governance combined with an essentially unlimited amount of desert to build in.
- rrr_oh_man 1y ago
  Thanks for the perspective!
- HPsquared 1y ago
  It sounds a bit like Singapore.
  - pama 1y ago
    Except Singapore no longer has a large amount of jungle to build on.
    - grumpy-de-sre 1y ago
      Very interesting talk about some of the challenges facing Singapore [1]. Does feel like the Singaporean economic miracle is under a lot of pressure. Demographics and retirement savings I guess being a big part of it. 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTHDkLqmoVg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTHDkLqmoVg
- hshdhdhj4444 1y ago
  Yes. And slaves. Lots and lots of modern day slaves.
fakedang 1y ago
The Roads and Transport Authority of Dubai is by far the best government authority I have ever interacted with, worldwide. Once I had an issue with bus routes for my father's employees (similar problem, high density route with fewer routes). I put a request on their dashboard from abroad and within days, their reply came back with them confirming a trio of new buses to cater to that route. Another time, I had an idea for bus route planning (not related to above, that relied on a simple ping system for bus driver notification). I sent an email describing the idea in short to the Emirati CEO of the bus authority, and within 15 minutes, he acknowledged my email and connected me with his advisor to set up a meeting the next day. The advisor (an Indian with a US PhD in urban transport systems) discussed my idea through over a meeting. Oh, and there are self-driving bus demos currently happening in Abu Dhabi right now.
- rrr_oh_man 1y ago
  Oh wow, that's pretty mind blowing!!! Thanks for sharing
- mschuster91 1y ago
  > Once I had an issue with bus routes for my father's employees (similar problem, high density route with fewer routes). I put a request on their dashboard from abroad and within days, their reply came back with them confirming a trio of new buses to cater to that route. Well, that's what happens if you can just throw money at problems. In Germany, it would most likely get rejected because there are no spare buses/drivers or budget for the fuel, and even if there was money it would likely be delayed for at least one year because the new route would have to pass through the usual tender/bid system first.

petesergeant 1y ago

There’s no shortage of malls in UAE, but also there’s fantastic infrastructure — great roads, a metro system, a country-wide rail system (open for cargo, opening for passengers soon). As for “vanity projects”, the Palm and both Burj’s are commercial projects that are also highly successful tourist draws. I can see an argument that the Abu Dhabi branches of the Louvre and the Guggenheim could be seen that way, but I think it’s fairer to see them as cultural investments. I guess I see the unfinished projects as being the proof: The World and the 2nd Palm haven’t been finished because they (I assume) stopped making commercial sense to the developers. I would finally note that Dubai specifically has little oil and gas wealth. Maybe 1% directly and 10% that comes as subsidy from AD which has plenty. The rest is literally just a combination of smart and commercially savvy governance combined with an essentially unlimited amount of desert to build in.

rrr_oh_man 1y ago
Thanks for the perspective!
HPsquared 1y ago
It sounds a bit like Singapore.
- pama 1y ago
  Except Singapore no longer has a large amount of jungle to build on.
  - grumpy-de-sre 1y ago
    Very interesting talk about some of the challenges facing Singapore [1]. Does feel like the Singaporean economic miracle is under a lot of pressure. Demographics and retirement savings I guess being a big part of it. 1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTHDkLqmoVg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTHDkLqmoVg
hshdhdhj4444 1y ago
Yes. And slaves. Lots and lots of modern day slaves.

fakedang 1y ago

The Roads and Transport Authority of Dubai is by far the best government authority I have ever interacted with, worldwide. Once I had an issue with bus routes for my father's employees (similar problem, high density route with fewer routes). I put a request on their dashboard from abroad and within days, their reply came back with them confirming a trio of new buses to cater to that route. Another time, I had an idea for bus route planning (not related to above, that relied on a simple ping system for bus driver notification). I sent an email describing the idea in short to the Emirati CEO of the bus authority, and within 15 minutes, he acknowledged my email and connected me with his advisor to set up a meeting the next day. The advisor (an Indian with a US PhD in urban transport systems) discussed my idea through over a meeting. Oh, and there are self-driving bus demos currently happening in Abu Dhabi right now.

rrr_oh_man 1y ago
Oh wow, that's pretty mind blowing!!! Thanks for sharing
mschuster91 1y ago
> Once I had an issue with bus routes for my father's employees (similar problem, high density route with fewer routes). I put a request on their dashboard from abroad and within days, their reply came back with them confirming a trio of new buses to cater to that route. Well, that's what happens if you can just throw money at problems. In Germany, it would most likely get rejected because there are no spare buses/drivers or budget for the fuel, and even if there was money it would likely be delayed for at least one year because the new route would have to pass through the usual tender/bid system first.