Established in 2004, DSO is a 100 per cent government-owned free zone integrated technology park that allows people to live, work and play. The DSAO is the regulatory body for DSO.
Home to modern technology-based industries, DSO offers state-of-the-art infrastructure and in-house business services. It also acts as an incubator for tech start-ups and attracts and assists many young professionals who work or have set up business here. The community has grown over the years to now include a range of residential properties and boasts a well-developed community.
Location
DSO is well connected to major areas in Dubai. It is a 15-minute drive from Dubai International Airport and Global Village. It takes a little more than 20 minutes to reach Shaikh Zayed Road and the Burj Khalifa.
Sustainability at heart
DSOA views sustainability as a top priority. As you enter, you are greeted by a well-planned green landscape dotted with palm trees. The greenery fills your line of sight at every roundabout leading to the DSOA headquarters. The flowers change colours with the season, switching between red, white, purple and yellow. Green spaces, including the Community Farm, public parks, green roofs, interior vertical gardens and walkways, grew from 890,000 sq m in 2014 to 1.2 million sq m this year. The community now boasts 4,000 sq m of vertical gardens, 3,000 sq m of green roofs, and 100 sq m of green walls.
Community farming
Every year in September, DSOA opens registration for its Community Farm initiative that runs until May the following year. Some 400 plots are distributed to residents to try their hand at sustainable organic farming. The initiative also involves a friendly competition for the Best Farmer, Best Landscaped Plot and Best Organic Produce. The most enthusiastic gardeners are the children, who spend endless hours ensuring their plants are doing well within their dedicated 3mx2m plots.
Community parks and trees
In September 2018, DSOA opened the 35,000-sq-m North Park, its third community park adjacent to Cedre Villas. This complements DSO’s popular Lake Park that boasts a 2.2km jogging path, and the 9,129-sq-m Central Park. The community also boasts 3,500 palm trees that produce between three and five tonnes of dates per year. This year DSOA announced plans to plant 1,000 ghaf trees, a symbol of the Year of Tolerance, to encourage openness, communication and mutual respect.
Green buildings
DSOA has obtained a series of certifications for sustainable green buildings and community design, such as LEED Platinum 3 and LEED Earth 1.
Support to entrepreneurs
The Dubai Technology Entrepreneur Campus (DTEC) in DSO provides advanced facilities to start-ups and entrepreneurs that develop innovative solutions for smart cities, congestion, waste management and energy efficiency. The hub is currently home to more than 800 start-ups, with around 100 working on blockchain and AI technologies. Since its inception in 2015, DTEC has hosted more than 1,300 companies from 72 countries, including 26 Emirati start-ups, and helped create more than 3,000 jobs. It has supported the inflow of Dh1 billion into the UAE economy. The hub plans to expand by 5,600 sq m to accommodate around 800 start-ups in the next three years.
Light industrial units
DSOA completed the construction of phase six of the Light Industrial Units project, contributing to enhancing DSO’s position as a preferred destination for industrial companies. The total investment in Light Industrial Units has now reached around Dh324 million.
Residential options
Homebuyers and tenants have a range of options. There are studios to three-bedroom apartments, while the two villa communities — Semmer Villas and Cedre Villas — offer three- to five-bedroom luxury home options.
DSO Smart Initiatives
DSOA has employed several environmental initiatives in line with its smart city strategy. These include the replacement of 2,000 traditional light bulbs in the streets and public buildings with energy-saving LED lights. This has reduced the total energy consumption by over 50 per cent. There is also an integrated water recycling and smart irrigation system. Its waste water treatment plant has processed 2.5 billion imperial gallons of water to date that waters over 3,000 palm trees across 70,000 sq m. The plan is to expand this to 200,000 sq m by next year, representing around 20 per cent of the public green area in the free zone.
DSOA is working on several key initiatives under the Dubai Clean Energy Strategy 2050. In partnership with the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and DG World, DSO launched the test run of its first driverless cab, which is built to high security and safety standards.
Retail and medical facilities
Residents also enjoy plenty of retail options. Phase one of Souq Extra includes 42 fully let retail units, and phase two will include a 77,000-sq-ft expansion featuring a natural light environment with a floating glass roof. The Silicon Mall is a 2.3-million-sq-ft shopping mall being developed by LuLu Group International. The mall will house 300 local and international retail outlets and 12 anchor stores and a family entertainment centre spanning 70,000 sq ft. DSOA has also signed a 30-year renewable investment contract with Union Coop. There are also plenty of medical facilities nearby, including Aster Clinic, Magnum Gulf Medical Centre Silicon Oasis, Eupepsia Medical Clinic and Fakeeh Academic Medical Hospital.
Dubai Digital Park: New Digital Community in DSO
Constructed with an investment of more than Dh1.5 billion, Dubai Digital Park (DDP) is Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority’s (DSOA) latest development that is considered the first smart city project in Dubai. DSOA has also invested more than Dh100 million in DDP’s comprehensive range of 60 smart city services, offered through a unified and secure platform that integrates the operational requirements of enterprises with the needs of employees, residents and visitors.
DDP supports and contributes to the development of a geoeconomic map of Dubai in accordance with the second item of the Fifty-Year Charter launched by His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, earlier this year. DDP also sets new global benchmark for smart technology solutions and supports the objectives of the UAE Strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution that aims to enhance the UAE’s position as a global hub for piloting cutting-edge technologies and contribute to developing a competitive national economy based on knowledge, innovation and future solutions.
The 150,000-sq-m community comprises 47,000 sq m of office space, 17,000 sq m of retail units, 235 smart residential apartments and more than 5,000 sq m of ready-made and plug-and-play offices. Its host of value-added contemporary lifestyle facilities includes a Radisson Red hotel with 112 business hotel rooms and 59 fully furnished apartments. DDP also has a convention centre that can host more than 500 people, restaurants, cafés, fitness centres, running tracks and cycling trails, a shopping centre and underground parking that can accommodate more than 2,000 cars.
Companies seeking to set up their operations at DDP can benefit from the flexible office space available within eight buildings that range from 50 sq m to 10,000 sq m. In addition, the project features eight Signature Boutique buildings that provide an ideal location for corporate headquarters.
