To more than quadruple the size of the emirate’s manufacturing industry to Dh172 billion by 2031, the Abu Dhabi government will invest Dh10 billion ($2.72 billion) across six industrial schemes.
This will be done by increasing access to financing, further improving the ease of doing business, and attracting foreign direct investment, government officials said on Thursday.
The move is part of the launch of the Abu Dhabi Industrial Strategy to strengthen the emirate’s position as the region’s most competitive industrial hub.
“The industrial sector plays a major role in bolstering economic diversification in the UAE and the industrial sector in Abu Dhabi represents 40 percent of the total sector in the country, as the emirate has invested more than Dh51bn in the past 15 years to set up a complete infrastructure,” Mohamed Al Shorafa, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, said at a press conference in Abu Dhabi.
“The aim is to boost the contribution of the non-oil sector to the GDP [gross domestic product].”
The UAE last year launched its industrial strategy “Operation 300bn” to position it as a global industrial hub by 2031. The 10-year comprehensive roadmap focuses on increasing the industrial sector’s contribution to the country’s gross domestic product from Dh133bn in 2021 to Dh300bn in 2031.
The strategy focuses on boosting production in 11 priority sectors, supporting the growth of national industries, attracting foreign investment, modernising legislation and ensuring the availability of dedicated financing for local industrial companies.
The UAE, the Arab world’s second-largest economy, has already launched the national In-Country Value (ICV) scheme that aims to boost the private sector’s participation in the economy, diversify output and localise critical parts of the supply chain.
More than Dh40bn has so far been redirected into the national economy through the ICV scheme. Currently, 45 government entities, 17 national companies, and 5,500 local industrial companies are participating in the programme.
The UAE’s industrial sector has grown rapidly over the past few years, despite the global economic slowdown caused by the Covid-19 pandemic-driven headwinds. Last year, 220 new factories went into service and began production as the government rolled out measures to improve the ease of doing business and ensuring the industrial sector’s access to financing.
The new industrial strategy launched on Thursday will support the UAE’s economy, and also reflect Abu Dhabi’s awareness of the economic changes taking place in the world and the capital’s response to these transformations, Mr. Al Shorafa said.
