Abu Dhabi’s LIVEX 2026 Closes With More Than 150 Billion Dirhams of Agreements and Initiatives
Abu Dhabi’s inaugural LIVEX 2026 closed with more than 50 agreements and initiatives worth over 150 billion dirhams, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said on 9 October. The announcements spanned three strands: investment and infrastructure, the daily quality of life of communities, and the use of technology. The three-day event, organised by the Department of Municipalities and Transport, ran from 29 September to 1 October at ADNEC Centre Abu Dhabi, and more than 1,500 investors engaged through its Investor Stage and Investor Lounge.
150 billion dirhams set against the emirate’s economy
On our calculation the headline total is more than 46 percent of Abu Dhabi’s GDP in the single third quarter of 2025, when output reached a record 325.7 billion dirhams in Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi figures released on 9 February 2026. It is at least 28.2 percent larger than the 117 billion dirhams of real estate transactions registered across the whole first half of 2026. And it is at least one third of the 450 billion dirhams of committed infrastructure investment that the closing statement says is being advanced across the emirate as part of a wider pipeline.
The closing statement does not break the total down by entity. Among the individual LIVEX announcements, one carried its own deal value: an investment of more than 300 million dirhams by the Integrated Transport Centre (Abu Dhabi Mobility) in an Automated Vehicle Management system and a smart fare collection system that accepts bank cards, digital payment methods and QR codes, awarded to Conduent Business Solutions S.A.S., part of the Conduent Group. Conduent’s systems already run across more than 400 public transport networks in over 20 countries. Other LIVEX announcements, including those involving Plenary, Siemens, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Abu Dhabi Projects and Infrastructure Centre with The Boring Company, carried no deal values.
LIVEX 2026 in numbers
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Agreements and initiatives | 50+ |
| Combined value | AED150bn+ |
| Investors engaged | 1,500+ |
| Event days | 3 |
| Committed infrastructure pipeline | AED450bn |
The pipeline figure is the committed infrastructure investment being advanced across Abu Dhabi, as stated in the closing release of 9 October 2026.
Musaffah and the Mid-Island Parkway lead the infrastructure plans
The department launched the Musaffah Innovation District at LIVEX. Its development plan, MRDP, is expected at full implementation to lift GDP by 12.3 percent, generate an annual GDP contribution of 227 billion dirhams and support approximately 269,800 jobs, 26 percent of them high-skilled. On our calculation that is 70,148 high-skilled roles. The first phase runs to 2030 with an initial release of approximately 100 hectares of development-ready land in northern Musaffah and along the Northern Waterfront; the second, from 2030 to 2035, releases catalytic blocks totalling more than 100 hectares for sectors from semiconductors and aerospace supply chains to hydrogen, data centres and MedTech. Investors can enter through Musataha agreements, long leaseholds and public-private partnerships.
Transport is the second pillar. The 2.85 billion dirham first phase of the Mid-Island Parkway, showcased at the event, is scheduled for completion in 2027. Its eight-lane dual carriageway links Saadiyat Island to Umm Yifeenah Island and is expected to cut journeys to Reem Island or the main island from 25 minutes to 10, a 60 percent saving on our calculation. Phase two extends the corridor across 14.5 kilometres through Bilrimaid and Samaliyah Islands to Sas Al Nakhl, Al Raha Beach and Khalifa City, with four lanes in each direction. A drive from Saadiyat Island to Zayed City is estimated at just under 15 minutes. A separate 37 kilometre coastal route from Al Hudayriyat Island to the E11 at Al Nouf, with 7 kilometres of marine bridges and 4 kilometres of causeways, is also set out in the department’s plans.
Projects with published figures, LIVEX week
| Project | Value | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Mid-Island Parkway, phase one | AED2.85bn | Completion in 2027 |
| Vehicle management and fare systems | AED300m+ | Contract awarded |
| Musaffah plan, annual GDP contribution | AED227bn | At full implementation |
The parkway’s first phase was showcased at LIVEX; the Musaffah figure is a projected annual contribution to GDP, not an investment value. The Integrated Transport Centre investment is the only LIVEX announcement with a published deal value.
A property market and planning pipeline gathering pace
LIVEX lands on a property market growing at speed. The Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre recorded 117 billion dirhams of transactions in the first half of 2026, with value up 112 percent and volume up 61.7 percent on a year earlier. Sales accounted for 86.1 billion dirhams across 16,838 deals, or 73.6 percent of the total on our calculation, which puts the average sale at 5.11 million dirhams. On the same calculation, the 2025 full-year average was 3.88 million dirhams (99.4 billion dirhams across 25,604 sales), so the 2026 figure is 31.7 percent higher. Mortgages added 26.7 billion dirhams across 8,876 transactions.
Foreign money is the sharpest change. Real estate FDI reached 13.8 billion dirhams in the half, up 309 percent and 1.68 times the 8.2 billion dirhams recorded in the whole of 2025, on our calculation. Investment zones drew 75 billion dirhams, 64.1 percent of all transaction value on our calculation, and their number rose to 50 after eight approvals in the half. Six months of 2026 have already produced 82.4 percent of the record 142 billion dirhams registered across 2025, on our calculation.
The planning pipeline points the same way. The Urban Planning and Permits Centre approved 43.6 million square metres of gross floor area in the first half, 40 percent more than a year earlier, a net addition of 12.46 million square metres on a base of 31.14 million on our calculation. It issued 4,730 new building permits and registered 4,574 new engineers, bringing the total to 10,280.
Abu Dhabi real estate and planning, first half of 2026
| Measure | H1 2026 | Change on H1 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Transaction value | AED117bn | +112% |
| Sales value | AED86.1bn | +163.7% |
| Real estate FDI | AED13.8bn | +309% |
| Investment zones | AED75bn | +181% |
| Approved gross floor area | 43.6m sqm | +40% |
Transaction data from the Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre, 17 July 2026; floor area from the Urban Planning and Permits Centre, 28 September 2026. Changes are as published.
Citizens’ housing is being financed alongside. A 1.54 billion dirham benefits package approved in May for 1,074 Emirati citizens took housing benefits in 2026 to 5.76 billion dirhams. It combined 1.41 billion dirhams of loans for 929 citizens, an average of 1.52 million dirhams per loan on our calculation, with 123 million dirhams of repayment exemptions for 145 citizens. The Abu Dhabi Housing Authority puts total benefits delivered at more than 133,000, worth over 182 billion dirhams.
The growth base is broad. In the third quarter of 2025 the economy expanded 7.7 percent year on year and the non-oil economy 7.6 percent, with non-oil activities generating 175.6 billion dirhams, or 54 percent of GDP. Construction grew 13.9 percent to 30.5 billion dirhams and real estate 13.1 percent to 12.1 billion dirhams; together the two sectors made up 13.1 percent of output on our calculation. Over the first nine months of 2025 GDP rose 5 percent and the non-oil economy 6.8 percent, and by the third quarter of 2025 the emirate had recorded 18 consecutive quarters of growth. On 21 May 2026 the statistics centre announced a comprehensive revision and rebasing of the GDP series to an updated base year, with methodological documentation to be published alongside the revised estimates and historical series to be revised consistently where required.
Why it matters: LIVEX attached dates, land releases and contract structures to Abu Dhabi’s liveability pipeline. With construction and real estate supplying 13.1 percent of output in the third quarter of 2025 and foreign buyers committing more in six months than in all of last year, the government asset portal on TAMM, the Musataha and leasehold models and the Musaffah land releases give private capital a defined route into projects the state wants built.
Outlook: The LIVEX agreements now move to implementation alongside the new planning, mobility and investment tools launched during the week. The next milestones are the completion of the parkway’s first phase in 2027 and the first Musaffah land release under the phase that runs to 2030, while nine-month property figures and fresh quarterly GDP data will show how far the momentum of the first half carries. LIVEX returns in October 2027.
Sources: Abu Dhabi Media Office, Department of Municipalities and Transport, Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi Real Estate Centre, Integrated Transport Centre, Abu Dhabi Housing Authority, The Edge.
