Abu Dhabi’s new creative zone megaproject is set to open this November.
Yas Creative Hub will host some of the biggest names in the media, entertainment and gaming sectors.
The 270,000 square-metre zone is expected to create roles for up to 16,000 professionals by the end of 2031, tripling the number of people employed in the sector in the UAE capital.
The hub will become the new home of twofour54 Abu Dhabi, the capital's media free zone, in addition to hundreds of businesses, including gaming companies, as well as Hollywood and Bollywood studios.
The first companies are expected to begin moving in this November.
“The creative hub will be moving over 600 companies, and many 1000s of people,” Michael Garin, chief executive of twofour54 Abu Dhabi, told The National.
“So this is not an overnight process. And while the building was a very complex planning and construction exercise, the migration is equally complex.
“I would say that it won't be until mid next year, that everybody who wanted to move and plan to move into the campus will be able to do so.”
The zone will be home to a growing gaming industry, as well some of the biggest production companies in Hollywood and Bollywood.
“We have been one of only two jurisdictions in the world, the other being Iceland, who throughout the entire pandemic has been able to maintain production, over $100 million on film and television production. When everyplace else in the world, as you know, shut down,” said Mr Garin.
“It's why when Mission Impossible came here and January, February, and the last scene, they shot, we had a we had 1000 people on the set, and not a single Covid case.”
But the pandemic did, however, have an effect on the zone, he said.
It changed what some companies wanted to do with their workspace, as many people now work from home.
But that came at a good time, when the zone was still fitting out the buildings.
“We obviously couldn't change the physical structure of the buildings. When the pandemic hit, we could change everything inside,” said Mr Garin.
“And so obviously, there's no good time for a pandemic, but it hit just the time that we could still transform the interiors. And instead of building the offices of yesterday, we build the new offices of tomorrow.”
That means the zone is able to make space available to companies they will actually use, he said.
“We’re offering to organizations, the space that they know they absolutely need. And then almost like on an ala carte basis, we're having a hot desking conference rooms, screening rooms, other facilities that they only pay for when they use and that is allowed us to bring a lot more companies that we could have accommodated if they had to sort of contract for space in the in the old fashioned way.”
The project will feature five towers housing more than 600 businesses in the project which will be built around an area to be known as Media Boulevard, a 23,000 square metre park and a 6,000 square metre plaza.
There will be a 6,500 square-metre of studio and production space that will help to double the number of international and local productions that Abu Dhabi will be able to host each year.
It will be the size of 10 football pitches, once completed, and home to an amphitheatre, parks, cafes and restaurants all in a fully walkable, landscaped terrace that connects with Yas Bay Waterfront and the Etihad Arena.
