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Abu Dhabi to invest $1 trillion on projects
The National staff
- Last Updated: November 03. 2009 12:20AM UAE / November 2. 2009 8:20PM GMT
ABU DHABI // Forty billion down, one trillion to go. Fresh from a successful first Grand Prix at the Yas Marina circuit, Abu Dhabi is gearing up to spend as much as 25 times the amount committed to Yas Island on building up its infrastructure, including roads, power plants and a metro.
It represents a stimulus package that rivals those offered in the developed world. “This will lead to extraordinary demand for building materials and technological innovations, thus boosting the economy further,” said Sultan bin Saeed al Mansouri, the Minister of Economy.
Boosting Abu Dhabi’s infrastructure and manufacturing sector is central to the UAE’s plans to wean its economy off oil. Economists also see such spending as a key to reviving growth after the global recession by creating jobs, lowering the costs of running businesses and attracting more foreign investment.
Infrastructure will account for 17.5 per cent of the Dh43.6 billion (US$11.9bn) budget for 2010 announced by the Ministry of Finance last week.
When dipping into the stimulus fund, planners will use the development of the US$40 billion Yas Island as a template for future projects.
At a panel discussion about the Yas Marina Circuit held by New York University Abu Dhabi last month, Khaldoon al Mubarak, the circuit chairman, said the development would act as a blueprint for the city’s future. “We used Yas as almost the future urban component within the overall city of Abu Dhabi and we wanted to test things out,” he said.
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Added: 11/03/09 06:55:00 PM
3680Billion Dirhams investment in construction sector [Projects]is a massive investment.It shall pass through a Valu engineering/ cost benefit monitoring department/systyem to cut costs and get maximum benefit to the economy.
In construction, 1billion Dirhams investment creates approximately 25000labour jobs[spread over 2 years;average salary AED:1200/-p.m.]and around 2500 medium to highly paid jobs.This will create demand/jobs in another sectors..The concentration of investment shall however not be limited to Abudhabi or just Projects..There shall be an industrial revolution.Agricultural industries can be concentrated in Fujairah/Hatta/Alain areas.UAE shall [initially]aim to get the manufacturing status of Singapore or Malaysia.Labour facilities need to be subsidised.Cheap raw materials need to be imported.
Radha Krishna, Dubai
Added: 11/03/09 12:16:00 PM
1 trillion over how long of a period??
Trevor Mc Farlane, Abu Dhabi
Added: 11/03/09 11:29:00 AM
Did Khaldoon al Mubarak get any more specific than that? What kind of things were "tested out"?
Aza Aza, Dubai
Added: 11/03/09 10:19:00 AM
On the topic of introducing a metro system in Abu Dhabi, I have an anecdote to share. Two years ago in my sophomore year, I had to come up with a project for my statistics class at university, and the topic my group members and I chose was 'Introducing Metro in Abu Dhabi City'. We surveyed a sample size of 100 randomly chosen Abu Dhabi residents and came to a statistically backed conclusion that the metro would be a welcome addition to the city. Our professor, while praising our hard work, commented that the idea was not feasible and the government had no such plans, and that our study was not as realistic as that of other groups who chose to study issues like causes of road accidents. Needless to say, two years down the line our idea does not look so far-fetched after all!
S. A., Abu Dhabi