Dubai Municipality has entered into a strategic partnership with the Urban Planning and Design Institute of Shenzhen (UPDIS), marking a significant step toward advancing smart, sustainable, and future-ready urban development through international collaboration.
Signed on the sidelines of the World Governments Summit 2026, the Memorandum of Understanding establishes a structured framework for cooperation across urban planning and design, low-carbon urbanism, smart city development, and advanced infrastructure systems.
The agreement builds on a high-level Dubai delegation visit to Shenzhen in February 2025, where both sides examined Shenzhen’s experience in sponge city design and smart city applications, identifying strong alignment between the two cities’ long-term development priorities.
Under the partnership, Dubai Municipality and UPDIS will jointly develop and apply advanced planning and design technologies covering transit-oriented development, compact and agile urbanism, sponge city concepts, low-carbon city planning, and smart city models. The collaboration will also focus on integrating emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, advanced spatial analysis, and data-driven planning tools into urban planning, construction, operations, and city management.
Infrastructure cooperation will include next-generation ICT systems supported by 5G, integrated underground services, and smart water management solutions using AI and big data to enhance resilience and efficiency.
Eng. Marwan Ahmed bin Ghalita, Director General of Dubai Municipality, said the partnership reflects Dubai’s commitment to learning from global urban leaders while contributing its own planning expertise on the international stage.
Yu Lu, President of UPDIS, noted that the shared development trajectories of Shenzhen and Dubai create strong potential for long-term, mutually beneficial cooperation extending beyond technical exchange to include training, research, and knowledge sharing.
The agreement supports Dubai’s long-term urban strategies and the Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan, reinforcing the emirate’s position as a global hub for innovative and sustainable city-making.
News Source: Emirates News Agency
