Elon Musk's Boring Company has signed an agreement with the Abu Dhabi Projects and Infrastructure Centre (Adpic) on the sidelines of the Liveability and Investment (LIVEX) conference in Abu Dhabi, to explore underground transport tunnels and utility infrastructure in the emirate. The deal forms part of a wider UAE push to build 150 kilometres of tunnels nationwide, and complements the Dubai Loop project already under construction.
Steve Davis, president of the Boring Company, said Abu Dhabi's growth vision and its commitment to technology make it "an ideal environment to explore the next generation of underground infrastructure solutions."
The Dubai Loop, already underway, will connect the Dubai International Financial Centre to Dubai Mall in its first phase, at a cost of Dh565 million (about $153.8 million), using autonomous Tesla vehicles. The first four stations will be Burj Khalifa, DIFC 2, the Zabeel Dubai Mall car park, and ICD Brookfield Place. Once complete, the full network will stretch 22 kilometres across 19 stations, at an estimated total cost of Dh2 billion, with operations expected to begin within two years.
The Boring Company's move into Abu Dhabi signals that underground tunnelling and transport, until now largely concentrated in Dubai, is expanding to other emirates, as the UAE builds out a wider underground infrastructure network aimed at easing surface traffic and improving urban mobility.