UAE’s newest developer Arada has announced plans to create one of the country’s smartest cities at its 24-million-sq-ft development Aljada located in the heart of Sharjah.

Among the key innovations to be introduced at the Dh24-billion ($6.53 billion) progressive urban mega-project are a sustainability lane for electric vehicles, smart parking, smart solar-powered lighting and ‘circular’ offices.

In the early stages of the Aljada Smart City project, Arada’s development team will focus on five key areas: mobility, utilities, telecommunications, the ‘circular economy’, and waste management. All these areas will be supported by ultra-secure, high-end digital infrastructure that will be managed centrally within the community.

The latest announcement at Sharjah’s largest mixed-use lifestyle destination follows a series of milestones, including the first infrastructure contract award, to BICC Contracting in September, and the first main construction contract award, which was handed to Modern Building Contracting Company in July.

According to Arada chairman Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, the developer is currently in negotiations with several multinational companies with extensive experience in smart technology, and would soon announce new partnerships in the coming months.

“In the mobility sphere, Aljada will boast a number of smart technology solutions, including: a traffic management system; a smart parking app that will permit residents and visitors to reserve spaces at key destinations within the city such as Aljada’s Central Hub; and public and private charging stations for electric cars,” he stated.

“In addition, Arada will also introduce a sustainability lane into the road network, which will be reserved for the use of Aljada’s internal public transport network of environment-friendly buses,” explained Sheikh Sultan.

With regard to utilities, Arada will implement smart solar solutions across public spaces, and in particular in the Central Hub, the leisure and entertainment district in the heart of the project.

The developer is aiming to ensure that the lighting requirements for this area of Aljada is entirely powered by renewable energy. In addition, smart LED street lighting throughout Aljada will provide significant cost savings in the long term, as well as reducing urban carbon emissions, said the Sharjah developer.