The UAE, fortunately, is blessed with a leadership that looks forward and anticipates the future so that the country leads globally. Anticipating future challenges, goal-driven performance and continuous upgradation are unavoidable necessities for nations to shine and achieve peace, progress and prosperity.

As His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, points out, shaping the future and making it is no longer a theoretical concept but a key factor for countries to achieve competitiveness in the global arena.

While the digital transformation of all aspects of life has yielded rich dividends on manifold fronts, UAE’s efforts to become a leading global centre of 3D printing is particularly remarkable.

Dubai Municipality entering the Guinness Book of World Records last week for completing the largest 3D printed two-storey structure in the world, with a height of 9.5 metres, has added another feather to the Emirate’s cap.

Dawoud Al Hajri, Director-General of Dubai Municipality, has correctly stated that the project is a major turning point in the construction sector at the local and regional levels based on the strategy of innovation in 3D printing technologies in construction.

This latest accomplishment is in line with the directives of Sheikh Mohammed to construct 25 per cent of buildings in the Emirate utilising 3D printing technology by 2030.

On May 23, 2016, the UAE inaugurated the ‘Office of the Future’, the world’s first fully functional 3D printed building.

The country has been consistently utilising 3D printing technology. It is really good that the UAE has already made great step and progress in this sector.

The global 3D printing sector is expected to be worth around $120 billion by 2020 and $300 billion by 2025.