Drone deliveries that are cheaper and 20 times more efficient than land vehicles could complement an air taxi service poised for Dubai in 2026, experts have said.
Innovators discussed the merits of transforming deliveries from road to air at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, as an effective method of reducing city traffic and cutting pollution.
What's happened over the last 10 years has been a real evolution in drone systems and how you integrate with the retailer
Adam Grosser,
venture capitalist
It also emerged that Dubai is due to launch production of components of the new Joby Aviation air taxis, as the California-based aerospace company looks to begin running UAE services.
Ahmed Bahrozyan, chief executive of the Public Transport Agency of the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA), said the first six air taxis destined for UAE skies will be US-built, but the UAE could take up future manufacturing of the vehicles.
“The contractual agreement between us and Joby Aviation allows us and them to explore potentially moving parts of the manufacturing process here into the UAE,” Mr Bahrozyan told the Arabian Radio Network.
“The range of the vehicle allows it to potentially do intercity trips as well, so maybe in the future we can potentially also make trips to other emirates.
“Eventually the aim is that Joby has a strategy to move towards autonomy, so there's a vision to have this become an autonomous taxi in the future.”
On the sidelines of the World Government Summit in Dubai, it was announced vertiport infrastructure for the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) industry would be developed by Skyports.
A partnership between the RTA, Skyports and Joby Aviation will see air taxis take to the skies in 2026.
The initial network will include four vertiports located by Dubai International Airport (DXB), Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Downtown and Dubai Marina.
Rapid journey times
A typical journey from DXB to Palm Jumeirah is expected to take 10 minutes by air taxi compared with 45 minutes by car.
JoeBen Bevirt, American entrepreneur and founder and chief executive of Joby Aviation, said air taxis have been designed to cut noise pollution and become widely accessible.
“We looked at both the absolute noise level, but also the quality of the sound,” he said.
“We wanted something that didn't have the impulsive nature of a helicopter, so we've done a lot of work on the design of the propellers.
“It is not just a product, but something that will be widely accessible – that was part of the thesis in designing an air taxi that is 20 times as productive as the car on the ground.”
Aviation experts said drone deliveries had transformed access to medical supplies in hard-to-reach areas of Africa, with a similar model holding the potential to be implemented in the UAE.
In Rwanda, ZipLine drone operators slashed delivery times of critical supplies to medical facilities from eight hours by road in the wet season, to just 30 minutes.
Adam Grosser, chairman of UP Partners, an early-stage venture capital fund, said the success was an example of how day-to-day deliveries could also be revolutionised.
“What's happened over the last 10 years has been a real evolution in drone systems and how you integrate with the retailer,” Mr Grosser said in the Soaring Innovations forum at WGS.
“Consumer acceptance is public acceptance, this is a big part of making this successful."
Mr Grosser said common concerns among the public are that drones will fly close to houses, invade privacy and cause noise and disruption.
"But I can tell you now from having done hundreds of thousands of deliveries in a variety of locations that transit speeds are between 70-90mph, and that the convenience outweighs most people's concerns," he said.
“If you think about embedded costs of (road) delivery, you have the depreciation of the vehicle, insurance, fuel and a human being – so it costs around $12 or $13 if you're really good.
“Drones are already below that (cost) and will trend dramatically lower as the systems scale.”
The specs: 2018 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy
Price, base / as tested Dh97,600
Engine 1,745cc Milwaukee-Eight v-twin engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 78hp @ 5,250rpm
Torque 145Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.0L / 100km (estimate)
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Fifa Club World Cup:
When: December 6-16
Where: Games to take place at Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi and Hazza bin Zayed Stadium in Al Ain
Defending champions: Real Madrid
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
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Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
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The years Ramadan fell in May
The years Ramadan fell in May
More on animal trafficking
Company Profile
Company name: NutriCal
Started: 2019
Founder: Soniya Ashar
Based: Dubai
Industry: Food Technology
Initial investment: Self-funded undisclosed amount
Future plan: Looking to raise fresh capital and expand in Saudi Arabia
Total Clients: Over 50
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Iraq negotiating over Iran sanctions impact
- US sanctions on Iran’s energy industry and exports took effect on Monday, November 5.
- Washington issued formal waivers to eight buyers of Iranian oil, allowing them to continue limited imports. Iraq did not receive a waiver.
- Iraq’s government is cooperating with the US to contain Iranian influence in the country, and increased Iraqi oil production is helping to make up for Iranian crude that sanctions are blocking from markets, US officials say.
- Iraq, the second-biggest producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, pumped last month at a record 4.78 million barrels a day, former Oil Minister Jabbar Al-Luaibi said on Oct. 20. Iraq exported 3.83 million barrels a day last month, according to tanker tracking and data from port agents.
- Iraq has been working to restore production at its northern Kirkuk oil field. Kirkuk could add 200,000 barrels a day of oil to Iraq’s total output, Hook said.
- The country stopped trucking Kirkuk oil to Iran about three weeks ago, in line with U.S. sanctions, according to four people with knowledge of the matter who asked not to be identified because they aren’t allowed to speak to media.
- Oil exports from Iran, OPEC’s third-largest supplier, have slumped since President Donald Trump announced in May that he’d reimpose sanctions. Iran shipped about 1.76 million barrels a day in October out of 3.42 million in total production, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
- Benchmark Brent crude fell 47 cents to $72.70 a barrel in London trading at 7:26 a.m. local time. U.S. West Texas Intermediate was 25 cents lower at $62.85 a barrel in New York. WTI held near the lowest level in seven months as concerns of a tightening market eased after the U.S. granted its waivers to buyers of Iranian crude.
