Al Wathba, Abu Dhabi
Al Wathba
ٱلْوَثْبَة Zayed Festival Village | |
|---|---|
Satellite town | |
| Coordinates: 24°12′17.21″N 54°42′19.99″E / 24.2047806°N 54.7055528°E | |
| Country | United Arab Emirates |
| Emirate | Abu Dhabi |
| Municipal region | Abu Dhabi Region |
| Government | |
| • Type | Absolute monarchy |
| • Sheikh | Khalifa bin Zayed |
| • Crown Prince | Mohammed bin Zayed |
| Time zone | UTC+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.