Abu Dhabi Projects and Infrastructure Centre launches 2nd Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit to advance smart sustainable cities

The Abu Dhabi Projects and Infrastructure Centre (ADPIC) has announced the second Abu Dhabi Infrastructure Summit (ADIS), scheduled for 12-14 May 2026 at ICC Hall in the ADNEC Centre. The emirate’s flagship conference and exhibition for infrastructure and urban development will run under the theme “Urban Evolution: Rethinking Cities, Redefining How We Live” and is anchored by Abu Dhabi’s US$57 billion infrastructure pipeline spanning housing, transport, culture, education and social infrastructure. ADPIC’s Achievement Report notes the centre successfully delivered 100 capital projects in 2025, underscoring the emirate’s emphasis on execution at scale.

“ADIS is not simply a platform to showcase what Abu Dhabi plans to build. It is a platform to demonstrate how we plan, design, and deliver cities that place people at the centre of development. Through integrated urban planning, advanced mobility systems, and world class infrastructure, Abu Dhabi continues to shape communities that are connected, sustainable, and built to enhance quality of life. The challenges cities face today require collaboration at an unprecedented scale, and Abu Dhabi remains committed to sharing its governance frameworks, delivery models, and partnerships with the world. ADIS 2026 brings together leaders from across the global ecosystem to advance solutions that enable cities to grow responsibly while serving the needs of communities,” said His Excellency Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa, Chairman of the Department of Municipalities and Transport.

Event scope and context

ADIS 2026 is designed to move beyond dialogue toward delivery, responding to projections that 70 percent of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050. Abu Dhabi’s economy reached a record AED325.7 billion in Q3 2025, with construction expanding by 13.9 percent year-on-year — metrics cited by organisers as evidence of both capacity and urgency in delivering urban projects.

The summit will feature a multi-day conference, a dedicated exhibition and structured matchmaking, focused on four critical themes shaping urban development:

• Delivery-first infrastructure
• Urban wellbeing
• Smart solutions
• Sustainability and resilience

Programming spans governance frameworks, digital infrastructure, sustainable housing and advanced construction. For the first time ADIS will host dedicated conference sessions in collaboration with the International Federation of Consulting Engineers (FIDIC), focusing on contracting, dispute avoidance and resolution practices under the Abu Dhabi Capital Projects Framework — an explicit signal of the emirate’s push for internationally aligned project delivery standards.

The summit also expects expanded international participation from Singapore, China and Türkiye, building on ADPIC international roadshows in 2025 that yielded nine memoranda of understanding and more than 30 B2B meetings. Organisers point to the inaugural ADIS — attended by His Highness Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council — which welcomed over 4,100 participants from more than 100 countries and concluded with 15 strategic agreements.

“Abu Dhabi has earned its position as a global benchmark for infrastructure excellence not through ambition alone, but through execution. ADIS 2026 reflects our continued commitment to advancing this momentum, convening leading global partners, investors and innovators to collectively advance how cities are planned, financed, and delivered. Abu Dhabi's pipeline is open to the world, and we invite the world's best to help shape it,” said Eng Maysarah Mahmoud Eid, Director General of ADPIC.