Watch: How Dubai emerges from the desert to become one of the world’s leading metropolises

Watch: How Dubai emerges from the desert to become one of the world’s leading metropolises

From a small fishing settlement in the 1960s to a futuristic urban infrastructure that attracts millions of visitors every year

Published: Thu 1 Jun 2023, 8:17 AM Last updated: Thu 1 Jun 2023, 8:51 AM

Another visionary project – the futuristic development masterplan of Palm Jebel Ali – has been announced by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Wednesday.

He said: "Palm Jebel Ali will further strengthen our urban infrastructure and consolidate the city's emergence as one of the world's leading metropolises. This new groundbreaking project reflects our strategic development plan centred on raising the quality of life and happiness of residents."

In his tweet, he also said, "Dubai is growing and thriving… and every day we add a new brick in building the most beautiful city in the world."

Dubai's exceptional growth is indeed a history of building the city from the desert steadily and continuously, transforming it with innovation, vision and creativity one brick at a time.

With a timelapse video produced by global real estate consultancy Knight Frank, we look back at the phenomenal evolution of Dubai in the past six decades, from the 1960s to the 2020s.

1960

Dubai was