The Middle East

The city of Al Ain is sometimes known as “the Garden City”, and with good reason. While the UAE is largely composed of desert, Al Ain sits in the centre of a large oasis that it shares with the neighbouring Omani town of Buraimi and which has sustained human settlement for thousands of years. Now, diverse economic activity is offering new opportunities aerospace supplies production, food...

As government plans come to fruition, Al Gharbia – the western region of Abu Dhabi – will be a model of responsible and sustainable development for desert and arid coastal environments. Indeed, under Plan Al Gharbia 2030, the region’s economy is forecast to double in size, and the population set is to increase from 185,000 in 2010 to 450,000 by the end of the plan. Already a hive of activity in...

After a period of rapid growth in 2008 and early 2009, the construction sector has settled into a more moderate pattern in recent years. However, 2012 began on a positive note; in January 2012 the Executive Council announced that it had approved a range of projects, including some that had previously been put on hold, covering housing, health care and education, in addition to major transport...

As it continues to develop and diversify its economy, transport is playing a central role in the long-term development of Abu Dhabi. Transport and storage contributed approximately Dh20.62bn ($5.6bn) to the emirate’s economy in 2011, or 2.6% of GDP. Aviation in particular is expanding rapidly; the UAE is set to invest $19bn on new aviation infrastructure as it positions itself as a regional...

The government of Abu Dhabi continues to invest in a series of large industrial developments as it endeavours to diversify the economy beyond hydrocarbons, a key aim of its Economic Vision 2030. In the coming five years, growth in the sector is likely to be driven primarily by expanded upstream activity. Aluminium is seen as a segment ripe for expansion, with a number of new companies setting up...

With rapid population growth and an increasingly diverse economy, demand for utilities – including electricity, water and wastewater services – has grown considerably in recent years. The sector will need to continue expanding at around 6-10% to meet growing water and electricity demand, meaning that utilities provision remains a top priority. Furthermore, while the vast majority of Abu Dhabi’s...