Mattar Al Tayer: Dubai consolidates the model of a city capable of absorbing rapid growth and transforming it into a sustainable quality of life
DUBAI, 3 February / WAM / His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Roads and Transport Authority in Dubai, confirmed that global cities are today going through an unprecedented stage of comprehensive acceleration at various levels in terms of growth, technology, people’s expectations and environmental challenges, which requires governments to redefine their roles and tools in leading major transformations, and move from the role of operator to the role of enabler and organizer, while empowering the private sector, to lead innovation within clear partnerships, in a way that ensures sustainable growth and quality of life. For future generations.
This came during a major dialogue session within the work of the World Government Summit 2026, moderated by media personality Mina Al-Araibi, in the presence of an elite group of decision-makers, government leaders, and representatives of international institutions and the private sector. The session discussed the role of governments in leading urban transformations, the future of mobility, and the importance of partnerships in building cities capable of resilience and adaptation to accelerating changes.
His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer said: During the previous session of the summit, we signed, in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Defense and Chairman of the Executive Council of the Emirate of Dubai, a memorandum of understanding with The Boring Company to study the implementation of the “Dubai Loop” project. Today the project has moved from the study stage to implementation with the support of the wise leadership, and soon we will see it on the ground to constitute a qualitative addition to the transportation system in the emirate, stressing that the project represents a qualitative leap. In first- and last-mile mobility solutions, through which we aim to implement innovative solutions for this system.
His Excellency stressed that the description of the current stage that global cities are experiencing can be summed up as “the era of urban acceleration,” explaining that it includes population growth, successive technological development, and rising population expectations, in addition to escalating environmental challenges. He pointed out that more than 55% of the world’s population today lives in cities, and the percentage is expected to rise to 70% by the year 2050, which means increasing pressure on urban infrastructure and services.
His Excellency said: In Dubai, the population growth rate has reached about 7% annually, with the population during daylight hours approaching exceeding 6 million people, in conjunction with a continuous growth in the number of international tourists, as the emirate received more than 17 million international tourists last year, an increase of 5% over the year 2024.
Al Tayer added: Global geopolitical changes have contributed to enhancing Dubai’s attractiveness as a place to live and settle, in addition to the emirate’s high levels of quality of life, security and stability. He stressed that Dubai’s vision, led by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, “may God protect him”, is based on shifting towards a transportation system that puts people at the heart of planning, with the aim of reducing time and emissions, and improving the quality of life, so that it is transformed from a city for vehicles, to a city for humans.
His Excellency explained that Dubai’s attractiveness was also reflected in qualitative indicators that confirm the confidence of wealthy people and businessmen in the economic and social environment provided by the emirate, noting that the number of luxury vehicles registered in Dubai reached about 170 vehicles, while the cumulative value of distinctive number plates during the past three years reached about 1.7 billion dirhams, which confirms Dubai’s position as a preferred global destination for living and investment.
He stressed that these indicators, in addition to the rapid population growth and the increase in the number of visitors, represent a direct pressure on the infrastructure system and quality of life, which requires innovative solutions and sustainable investments, a balance between accommodating growth and maintaining the efficiency of services, at a time when artificial intelligence is redefining the way services are designed and the speed of decision-making.
His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer pointed out that environmental challenges have become one of the most prominent issues facing cities, given that cities are responsible for more than 70% of carbon emissions globally, which requires governments to adopt sustainable transportation solutions that reduce dependence on private vehicles.
He also pointed out that the expectations of customers today are constantly rising, especially the youth group, who compare government services to the best global digital practices, and do not accept anything less than an integrated and seamless service.
His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer asked: Are governments capable of facing these challenges alone? He stressed that the answer is clearly “no,” and that the next stage requires governments to move from the role of operator to the role of enabler and regulator, while enabling the private sector to lead innovation within partnerships with clear goals and standards, which was confirmed by the outcomes of the World Economic Forum 2026, on the importance of strengthening partnerships between the public and private sectors, especially in technology and the urban economy.
He pointed out that Dubai is a city that turns challenges into opportunities, as it adopted this approach early by developing flexible legislative and regulatory frameworks, the most prominent of which is the law regulating partnerships between the public and private sectors, which provided a clear regulatory framework, accelerated decision-making, and within the highest standards of governance, in addition to its role in empowering the private sector.
He added: The law establishing the Roads and Transport Authority contributed to enabling commercial transformation and the establishment of specialized companies, which reflected positively on the development of services, raising operating efficiency, and improving customer service.
His Excellency said: Today we have four companies emanating from the Authority with a market value of approximately 80 billion dirhams, which are: Salik for managing traffic tariffs, Parkin for managing public parking, Mada Media for managing outdoor advertising spaces, and Dubai Taxi for providing taxi services, stressing that these companies contributed to the development of some of the RTA’s services during the past few years.
His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer explained that Dubai was keen to build global strategic partnerships in the areas of smart and sustainable mobility, stressing that the selection of partners is based on precise criteria that include safety, scalable technical maturity, operational readiness, data governance, and integration with the transportation system.
His Excellency reviewed some of the success stories in the partnership sector, saying: The establishment of Hala Taxi Company in partnership with Careem, which developed taxi order management, contributed to reducing the waiting time from 11 minutes to 3 minutes, which shows the direct impact of the effective partnership between the public and private sectors.
He added: If we also look at Uber in its early days, we will remember that it faced resistance from world governments due to its influence in the taxi sector, but in Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, may God protect him, had a different vision, as His Highness insisted on providing a regulatory framework for electronic booking companies for taxis and limousines, and today Dubai is at the forefront of the smart and sustainable mobility sector thanks to this wise vision, because we were able, with the guidance and follow-up of the wise leadership, to establish Global strategic partnerships to develop sustainable mobility solutions.
He added: Today we are proud of our strategic partnerships with international companies. In the field of air taxis, we have partnerships with Gobi and Skyports, in addition to partnerships in the field of self-driving taxis with Baidu, Pony AI, Uber, and We Ride. Through these partnerships, we are moving, in Dubai, from a city focused on vehicles to a city focused on humans.
His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer stressed that the continued expansion of the road network, regardless of its size, will not be a sufficient solution to address the challenges of congestion, in light of the rapid growth in the number of vehicles, explaining that the annual increase rate in the number of registered vehicles in Dubai is about 10%, compared to rates ranging between 2 and 3% at the global level.
He explained that these data impose the need to focus on managing the demand for transportation, by providing a modern and comfortable mass transportation system that encourages residents to switch from using private vehicles to more efficient and sustainable means of mass transportation, adding that the global partnerships established by Dubai are based on a clear vision, speed in decision-making, and direct support from the leadership, which prompts international companies to choose Dubai as a preferred partner to experiment and develop future mobility solutions.
His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer discussed the main factors that contributed to transforming Dubai’s vision into a practical reality, explaining that the emirate’s success was based on three basic elements: bold investment, decisive decision, and strict implementation, especially since infrastructure is a major driver of the economy.
He pointed out that the Dubai government invested about 175 billion dirhams in the road and transportation sector over the past twenty years, which contributed to achieving tangible economic and social returns, which included savings in time and fuel costs amounting to about 320 billion dirhams, and a contribution of more than 156 billion dirhams to the emirate’s gross domestic product, in addition to an additional direct investment of more than 32 billion dirhams in logistics and distribution services. In addition to reducing traffic accident deaths from 22 to 1.8 deaths per 100,000 population.
He identified three factors that contributed to transforming Dubai into a global model: early investment before the demand is complete, proactive long-term planning, as well as establishing effective global partnerships.
His Excellency stressed that Dubai has adopted a clear methodology in moving from pilot projects to actual expansion, based on the principle of “trial, organization, then operation,” while setting strict standards that include technical, organizational, and operational readiness, in addition to safety standards.
He pointed out that this methodology enabled Dubai to actually move to operating advanced solutions, as self-driving buses began with limited experiments and expanded according to precise controls, and on-demand transportation was transformed from a mere experimental application into a daily service that people depend on. He revealed the readiness to officially launch the air taxi by the end of the current year 2026 within a legislative framework that is the first in the world, while self-driving taxis will soon be officially launched on the emirate’s roads during the first quarter of the current year 2026, stressing that Governance is the tool that ensures we can implement quickly, but without any risk to public safety.
Speaking about self-driving transportation, His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer stressed that the secret of Dubai’s success in this field was not in the technology itself, but in the clarity of the decision, pointing out that in 2016 the emirate set a strategic goal of making 25% of the total means of transportation self-driving by 2030, because of this having positive economic, environmental and social impacts, the most important of which is reducing traffic accidents by up to 90%, reducing costs associated with transportation, reducing emissions, and improving efficiency. Use of roads.
He pointed out that the Authority’s strategy for autonomous transportation was based on four integrated paths: self-driving vehicles, self-driving buses, self-driving abras, and air taxis, stressing that the success of cities today is not measured by the number of tests they conduct, but rather by their ability to move to safe and scalable actual operation, and this is what we have achieved in Dubai on the ground.
He stated that alliances in the field of smart mobility are not an option, but rather a necessity, explaining that the selection of partners occurs according to a set of criteria that include safety first, scalable technical maturity, operational readiness, strict data governance, and integration with the transportation system.
He added: There is a fundamental condition that we always put in place when concluding any partnership, which is to achieve local impact, through cooperation with leading international companies that have high potential to support the building and sustainability of local capabilities, pointing out that partnerships in major projects such as the Dubai Metro, air taxis, self-driving vehicles, and smart control centers, have resulted in the building of administrative systems and specialized national cadres capable of managing these complex systems, as this is the true guarantee of sustainability.
At the conclusion of his speech, His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer stressed that Dubai does not wait for technology, but rather creates the environment in which it succeeds thanks to the clear vision of our leadership, stressing that the World Government Summit formed and continues to be a launching pad for the most important strategic projects, and that Dubai’s doors are open to global partnerships and innovative ideas that enhance the quality of life and consolidate the emirate’s position as the best city to live in the world.
- For more: Follow Khaleejion 24 Arabic, Khaleejion 24 English, Khaleejion 24 Live, and for social media follow us on Facebook and Twitter
