Dubai needs 25-year plan to succeed

PLAN NEEDED: Livingstone (pictured) has called on Dubai to establish a 25-year plan for the emirate's development. (Getty Images)

Dubai needs to implement a 25-year plan for the city if it is to succeed, London's former mayor Ken Livingstone warned on Monday.

Speaking during a press conference at Cityscape, Livingstone said Dubai has to establish where the global economy is heading over the next 25 years so it can prepare to take advantage of future opportunities.

“What Dubai obviously needs is that 25-year plan to see where the global economy is going, how the balance of power is shifting, what industries would have risen and fallen and how Dubai can exploit that in the best possible way,” he said. 

The city needs to start planning for its infrastructure requirements and gauge transportation needs, he said.

Livingstone estimated 25 percent of Dubai’s carbon emissions are from cars, a figure which needs to be reduced, he said.

Meanwhile, Livingstone refused to be drawn on Dubai’s rights issues regarding urban planning and the recent ruling to remove single residents from villas in the emirate, saying he preferred not to lecture other nations on human rights, given the UK’s own stance on such topics.

The former mayor is in Dubai to give an address on global sustainability during the real estate expo.

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READERS' COMMENTS

Good Joke Man!
Posted by Trojan on Tuesday 7 October 2008 at 22:53 UAE time


25-YEAR PLAN!!! Hey man, planning is for sissies. We don't waste our time with planning even a year ahead around here, WE JUST DO IT. If it doesn't work, we'll fix it later. Never mind that our roads are congested as hell, never mind that our beaches are polluted like sewage, never mind that our man-made beaches feel like mud, never mind that our artificial lakes stink like a swamp, we are now rich and famous, and that's all we care about!

Banal Truisms masquerading as wise words
Posted by Rodger, Dubai, UAE on Tuesday 7 October 2008 at 08:48 UAE time


So basically the central plank of Mr. Livingston's speech was that "Dubai needs to look ahead and plan accordingly"? Genius! How can the next speaker at Cityscape top that advice? Perhaps by telling the hushed audience not to build towers on foundations made from custard? How much was Mr. Livingston paid for this speech?!

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