Abu Dhabi seeks $30bn infrastructure deals with global partners

• BlackRock and Temasek on board
• Energy and water among investment sectors
• Projects across GCC and Central Asia

Abu Dhabi’s wealth fund L’imad and the state-backed Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) have joined forces with two global companies in a plan to invest $30 billion in the infrastructure sector across the GCC and Central Asia.

The proposed partnership with US investment company BlackRock’s Global Infrastructure Partners and Singapore’s Temasek will focus on a project pipeline across energy, transport, logistics, digital, water and waste management sectors, the companies said in a joint statement.

The venture plans to raise a combination of equity and debt capital to invest in greenfield and brownfield infrastructure assets. No further details were given.

Jassem Bu Ataba Al Zaabi, group CEO of L’imad, said infrastructure is a key pillar of the fund’s investment strategy, particularly in markets supported by long-term structural demand trends.

“These dynamics make the region highly attractive for long-term capital, particularly for opportunities driven by urbanisation, digitisation and productivity-led growth,” he said.

In January Abu Dhabi Development Holding Group (ADQ) was consolidated under the umbrella of L’imad to create a multi-billion-dollar “sovereign investment powerhouse”.

L’imad is chaired by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the eldest son of UAE president Sheikh Mohammed. It manages assets in the UAE and internationally in sectors such as infrastructure and real estate, financial services, technology, urban mobility and smart cities.

Further reading:

• L’imad absorbs ADQ to create ‘investment powerhouse’
• Mubadala maps out infrastructure and Asia plan
• L’imad marks rise of new generation in Abu Dhabi

This month Abu Dhabi unveiled an AED55 billion ($15 billion) public-private partnership pipeline for 2026 and 2027 in 24 infrastructure projects across the transport, infrastructure and social sectors.

In December 2024 Maysarah Eid, the acting director general of Abu Dhabi Projects and Infrastructure Centre, said that the emirate was overseeing more than 600 infrastructure projects valued at more than AED200 billion.

Adnoc has already announced plans to award AED200 billion in contracts over the next two years to support its upstream and downstream expansion.