Hyperloop One signed an agreement with the Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to evaluate a Hyperloop One system in greater Dubai and the UAE. Hyperloop One will work with McKinsey & Co. and the Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) on a detailed feasibility study sponsored by the RTA.

Additionally, Hyperloop One unveiled an original concept for autonomous transportation in the UAE, including designs for the world’s first Hyperloop One Portals (the equivalent of a station or airport) and Hyperloop One Pods that can take passengers from Dubai to Abu Dhabi in 12 minutes, compared to a two-hour drive.

Under the terms the agreement, Hyperloop One will work with McKinsey and BIG to evaluate the implementation of a passenger Hyperloop in Dubai.

“The momentum is global and accelerating,” adds Hyperloop One CEO Rob Lloyd. “The world will see the test of the first full-scale Hyperloop system in early 2017 at our Test and Safety Site in Nevada and we will have multiple operational Hyperloop systems within five years.”