Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan
Status, timeline, budget and the areas around it, with every fact sourced.
- Type
- Master plan
- Emirate
- Dubai
Overview
The Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan was launched in March 2021 and is the emirate's seventh master plan since 1960. It projects the resident population rising from 3.3 million in 2020 to 5.8 million by 2040 and organises growth around five main urban centres. Phase II, approved in December 2022, added a 20-minute city policy.
- Status
- Launched March 2021; Phase II approved, reported 12 December 2022
- Type
- Master plan
- Emirate
- Dubai
Timeline
13 March 2021
Plan launched by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, covering the next 20 years (seventh master plan for the emirate since 1960)
Source: Dubai Media Office12 December 2022
Phase II of the plan approved, including the 20-minute city policy and an integrated plan for five main urban centres
Source: Dubai Media Office
Key facts
- Population projection
- Residents expected to increase from 3.3 million in 2020 to 5.8 million by 2040Source: Dubai Media Office
- Day-time population projection
- 4.5 million rising to 7.8 million by 2040Source: Dubai Media Office
- Hotel and tourism land
- Land area used for hotels and tourist activities to increase by 134%Source: Dubai Media Office
- Commercial land
- Increases to 168 square kilometresSource: Dubai Media Office
- Green and recreational space
- Green and recreational spaces and public parks to double in sizeSource: Dubai Media Office
- Nature reserves
- Nature reserves and rural natural areas to constitute 60% of the emirate's total areaSource: Dubai Media Office
- Public beaches
- Length of public beaches to increase by as much as 400% by 2040Source: Dubai Media Office
- Education and health land
- Land area for education and health facilities increases by 25%Source: Dubai Media Office
- Urban centres
- Five main urban centres: three existing (Deira and Bur Dubai; Downtown and Business Bay; Dubai Marina and JBR) and two new (Expo 2020 Centre; Dubai Silicon Oasis Centre)Source: Dubai Media Office
- 20-minute city
- Residents to access 80% of their daily needs and destinations within 20 minutesSource: Dubai Media Office
- Housing budget (Phase II announcement)
- AED 65 billion housing budget, doubling the number of beneficiaries of Dubai's housing programmeSource: Dubai Media Office
- Urbanisation levels
- Six urbanisation levels, described as a graded structure of urban centres of mixed uses and densitiesSource: Dubai Media Office
On the map
Map point: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL)
Areas affected and nearby
Areas a source places on or beside the project, or within 5 km of a mapped point, with their latest published changes.
| Area | Why it is listed | Price, 12 months | Price, 3 years | Rent, 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Bay | Named in the plan as part of the existing Downtown and Business Bay urban centre | +0.7% | +27.7% | -4.7% |
| Downtown Dubai | Named in the plan as part of the existing Downtown and Business Bay urban centre | +3.1% | +28.1% | +9.4% |
| Dubai Marina | Named in the plan as part of the existing Dubai Marina and JBR urban centre | -3.2% | +11.8% | -4.5% |
| Expo City Dubai | Expo 2020 Centre named as one of two new urban centres | -2.3% | +23.8% | +11.2% |
| Jumeirah Lake Towers | Phase II text names Dubai Marina and Jumeirah Lakes Towers as the tourism and entertainment hub | -6.8% | +43.8% | -3.8% |
Each change compares the average of everything registered in one period with the period before. It moves with the mix of homes sold as well as with prices, so it is not like-for-like growth. Source: Property Finder, from Dubai Land Department records. Other emirates: Bayut asking-price index.
Sources
- Dubai Media Office: Mohammed bin Rashid launches Dubai 2040 Urban Master PlanRead 12 November 2026
- Dubai Media Office: Mohammed bin Rashid approves Phase II of Dubai 2040 Urban Master PlanRead 12 November 2026
Questions buyers ask
What is the status of Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan?
Launched March 2021; Phase II approved, reported 12 December 2022.
Which areas are near Dubai 2040 Urban Master Plan?
Business Bay, Downtown Dubai, Dubai Marina, Expo City Dubai and Jumeirah Lake Towers.
How the atlas is built
- Every figure is copied as published by a named source, with its link, the period it covers and the date we read it. Nothing is estimated, interpolated, averaged or rounded.
- Dubai price, rent and change figures come from Property Finder's transaction pages, which publish averages of Dubai Land Department registered sales and tenancy contracts for the last 3 months, 6 months, 12 months and 3 years, with a change against the period before.
- Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah figures come from Bayut's asking-price index: advertised prices, not completed sales, which usually sit above transaction prices.
- ValuStrat readings are valuation-based and appear only where the press reported a community by name.
- Sources measure different things. Compare areas within one source and one period, never across sources.
- Projects and regeneration zones come from official releases where we could read them, otherwise from The National, Khaleej Times or Gulf News. A project is listed against an area when a source places it there, or when its mapped point is within 5 km of the area's point.
- Price effects of projects are published claims, attributed to the publisher. The atlas never says that a project caused a price change.
Data compiled 12 November 2026.
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