Start building for 2060 now

• Last Updated: November 04. 2008 8:39PM UAE / November 4. 2008 4:39PM GMT

That overcrowding is an inevitable consequence of rapid growth is small comfort to the residents of Abu Dhabi. Joining the growing list of strained infrastructure is the Mina Zayed Port, where traffic has outgrown capacity. As we report today, container ships are being forced to wait days and at times weeks before dock space becomes available. New residents lucky enough to find vacant accommodation now face the additional frustration of being without their furniture. Businesses, too, must be affected as the majority of goods travel to the UAE by sea.

Like the rest of the issues of space and supply in the Emirates, relief is coming, but is years away. The future import hub of the emirate, the multibillion dollar Khalifa Port and Industrial Zone, will not open until 2011. In the meantime, the port in Mina Zayed is installing new equipment and streamlining the way it unloads ships in order to alleviate some of the delays. But like many of Abu Dhabi’s current woes, the problem is ultimately one of space – and that will not be resolved until capacity increases.

Those living and working in Abu Dhabi ought to feel some reassurance that the new port will resolve the log-jam, that the housing shortage will be resolved when thousands of new units are constructed in the coming years, and that new schools and hospitals are being built to solve the shortage of desk and bed space. But the emirate will continue its rapid growth and it is not alone. Dubai has confronted – and still struggles with – many of the same infrastructure problems Abu Dhabi currently faces. And now the smaller emirates are seeking to join their brethren with construction booms of their own. Lessons must be learned from today’s problems. Better planning must accompany future growth or infrastructure will forever be five to 10 years behind the current need.

Already the country is seeing the beginnings of a dire water and energy crisis that is hampering development in the northern emirates. The Government cannot allow the basic necessities of modern life, electricity and running water, to become a scarce commodity. Often, vital aspects of a city’s infrastructure must be built ahead of demand.

The vision for the city of Abu Dhabi’s future in the 2030 Plan is grand. Multiple centres of commerce, well considered road and transportation networks, abundant green spaces, and cultural sites will make the city an even more attractive place to live. But it will struggle to achieve its goals if today’s problems are forever to be fixed tomorrow.