Al Ain's plan to 2040 is 58 per cent prepared. This is what has been published.

Abu Dhabi is preparing a long-term plan for Al Ain that runs to 2040. The preparation is 58 per cent complete, according to the Urban Planning and Permits Centre, and the plan was put on public display at LIVEX 2026, which ran from 29 September to 1 October.

Almost everything specific about it has appeared in Arabic, in press releases, or in both. This is what has been published, gathered in one place.

What is "Al Ain's Future to 2040"?

It is the long-range spatial plan for Al Ain Region, prepared by the Urban Planning and Permits Centre at Abu Dhabi's Department of Municipalities and Transport.

The Abu Dhabi Media Office, in its LIVEX wrap-up of 9 October, described it as "the long-term planning direction that guides future growth" while "preserving Al Ain's cultural and natural identity."

The centre says the plan is organised around five long-term outcomes: Prosperous and Authentic; Healthy and Liveable Communities; Sustainable and Resilient; Accessible and Connected Mobility; and Agile Governance and Implementation.

How much money has been named?

At the Al Ain Future Business Forum on 23 and 24 September, Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa, chairman of the Department of Municipalities and Transport, said approved projects for infrastructure, mobility and public spaces in Al Ain, together with planning and design work, exceed AED 5 billion. One report put that at about USD 1.36 billion.

He itemised three of them.

Those three come to AED 1.985 billion. The statement he made covers more than those three, since it includes planning and design work as well as projects. But no release we could find sets out the rest, and we have not been able to establish either what the remainder consists of or the period the AED 5 billion covers.

Al Shorafa said what matters more than the size of the investment is the effect it has on people's lives, and that the department treats housing, mobility, municipal services, infrastructure and public space as a single system.

What did residents ask for?

The department ran a public survey, "Al Ain Survey: The Future of Urban Development", from 17 March to 20 April 2026. It was open to citizens, residents, visitors and the business sector.

It drew 5,346 responses across 40 questions in Arabic and English, according to the planning centre, which says it also analysed more than one million geolocated public digital expressions.

Asked separately what they value about Al Ain as it is, 48.5 per cent named its peaceful environment.

In an account of the same survey published on 19 August, the department said about 94 per cent of participants had lived in Al Ain Region for more than ten years, more than 82 per cent were citizens, and 80 per cent said they regularly visit heritage sites in the city. It gave more green spaces, gardens and parks as the leading aspiration.

Read those proportions alongside the answers above. A survey in which 94 per cent of respondents are long-term residents and 82 per cent are citizens is a strong reading of that group's priorities. It is not a cross-section of everyone living in Al Ain.

Who else has been consulted?

About 90 representatives from more than 40 government and private bodies attended a workshop on the plan, which the department reported on 19 August. They were divided into four working groups: prosperity and cultural identity, healthy and vibrant communities, sustainability and resilience, and connected mobility.

Rashid Mubarak Al Mansoori, director general of Al Ain Municipality, attended. Eng. Abdulla Mohamed Alblooshi, director general of the Urban Planning and Permits Centre, said improving quality of life requires an approach that brings together government bodies, the private sector and the community.

What happens next?

A preliminary Al Ain City Centre Masterplan is targeted for completion by November 2026, the planning centre says. That is next month.

A separate trial announced at LIVEX, Smart Wadi, will use sensors and artificial intelligence in Al Ain Region to monitor flood risk and give early warning. It is run by the department with e&. No start date or scale was given for it.

What we could not establish

What the amount above AED 1.985 billion consists of, and the period the AED 5 billion figure covers.

Whether a plan document has been published. We could not find one.

The date and venue of the stakeholder workshop.

How to check this yourself

The dirham figures were reported by Al Watan, Emirates 24 and Annahar from 24 September 2026, in Arabic. The launch of Al Ain's Future to 2040 is in the Abu Dhabi Media Office's LIVEX wrap-up of 9 October 2026. The survey launch and the workshop are on the Department of Municipalities and Transport's own news pages, dated 17 March and 19 August 2026. The 58 per cent figure, the 5,346 responses, the five outcomes and the November target are from an Urban Planning and Permits Centre press release issued around LIVEX 2026 and carried by Zawya.