Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi

Al Wathba
ٱلْوَثْبَة
Zayed Festival Village
Satellite town
Al Wathba
Location in the UAE
Al Wathba
Al Wathba (Asia)
Coordinates: 24°12′17.21″N 54°42′19.99″E / 24.2047806°N 54.7055528°E / 24.2047806; 54.7055528
CountryUnited Arab Emirates
EmirateAbu Dhabi
Municipal regionAbu Dhabi Region
Government
  TypeAbsolute monarchy
  SheikhKhalifa bin Zayed
  Crown PrinceMohammed bin Zayed
Time zoneUTC+4 (UAE standard time)

Al Wathba (Arabic: ٱلْوَثْبَة, romanized: Al-Wathbah) is a suburb of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates that has a wetland nearby. It is located not too far from Zayed International Airport. It is also known as Zayed Festival village because of the Sheikh Zayed Festival, an important festival in Abu Dhabi which is held here.

Al Wathba was introduced after Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan became the Ruler of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in 1966, he set about further developing the Emirate, spending on healthcare, education and infrastructure. As part of his plan to develop the city of Abu Dhabi, in the 1980s, he invited Sir William Sydney Atkins, of the company W.S. Atkins and Partners (Atkins), to plan the development of Abu Dhabi and what would become the satellites of Al Wathba, Al Shahama and Baniyas, where a number of local Bedouins and immigrants from other parts of the Arabian Peninsula had settled under Sheikh Zayed's encouragement.