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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