Abu Dhabi’s Western Region In $500bn 2030 Output

Abu Dhabi’s Western Region is set to become the UAE’s next big development hotspot after it was revealed economic output for the area is expected to top Dhs500 billion by 2030.

Significant investment in key economic sectors in the Al Gharbia region is expected to increase the area’s GDP, more than doubling the Dhs243 billion figure of 2010.

Several multi-billion dollar projects planned for Al Gharbia are to be completed in the next five years, including the Madinat Zayed residential developments – a complex that will feature over 100 apartments, retail shops and offices – and the Ruwais Refinery Expansion, which will produce 832,000 barrels per day of oil.

A strategic guide for all the development initiatives in the Western Region has been devised under a framework called Al Gharbia 2030.

“The Western Region of Abu Dhabi has abundant natural resources and much untapped potential. The Al Gharbia vision calls for this to be develop and harnessed to the extraordinary developments taking place in other parts of the emirate,” said Edmund O’Sullivan, chairman of MEED Events, which is co-hosting an Al Gharbia development forum in Abu Dhabi next month.

“Particular attention will be paid at the conference to agriculture and food-processing industries; tourism and leisure; infrastructure and basic services. These and other topics will be comprehensively and authoritatively explored by an expert panel of high level government speakers and other experts drawn from the private sector in Abu Dhabi, the UAE and the world outside,” he added.

Power generation in the region is expected to receive a Dhs62 billion boost, infrastructure and transportation will receive Dhs54 billion and tourism will see a Dhs4 billion fund increase.

The Etihad Rail development is another significant development that will help raise the significance of the Western Region.
The ADNOC-funded project will cover 1,200km of track connecting the UAE to Saudi Arabia and Oman.

“The forum will highlight the specific projects and opportunities where investors and businesses can play an early and practical role. It will pinpoint exactly where to invest and how this can be profitably done,” said Mohamed Hamad bin Azzan Al Mazrouei, director general of the Western Region Development Council.