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As expected, the major announcements at Cityscape this year have been on the progress of the Abu Dhabi’s 2030 plan and the different projects which will contribute to the development of the Emirate.

Looking around, gone are the speculative investment schemes, with the emphasis of Cityscape being about networking, business-to-business engagement and the development of partnerships to deliver the long-term plan.

The topic of conversation for day three has been around sustainability with the Urban Planning Council launching their Estidama programme update at the Cityscape exhibition.

The Pearl Rating System (PRS) is the first of its kind in the Middle East region covering seven categories including design and construction. Applying to all types of buildings within the Emirate there is now a clear direction and roadmap on what is to be done to achieve the targets that have been set in order to gain the Pearl rating.

This echoes the importance of environmental sustainability in development in Abu Dhabi and reinforces the challenges developers face in the market in terms of product differentiation in order to attract investors and tenants.