Abu Dhabi identifies 725 industrial activities for full foreign ownership to attract FDI

UAE capital to add 50 industrial facilities in the next three years to boost self-sufficiency through local manufacturing

The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development and the Industrial Development Bureau granted 22 industrials licences in the first year of the the Basic Industrial Project in the medical, food and electrical sectors, with a total investment of Dh286.4 million. Courtesy AddedShow less

The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development said on Sunday it has identified 725 industrial activities that could be eligible for full foreign ownership as it seeks to further attract foreign direct investments.

The emirate's Industrial Development Bureau also plans to add 50 industrial facilities over the next three years as part of a push towards self-sufficiency in the local manufacturing of basic commodities from food to medical supplies, Added said.

Added introduced the basic industries project aimed at making the emirate “self-sufficient in the production of basic and consumer commodities” in July 2020. The aim is to increase the private sector's contribution in meeting local demand and to encourage exports. The project, which is being undertaken by the Industrial Development Bureau, will seek to strengthen investment in four major sectors of food production, medical supplies, power generation and important materials such as iron, aluminium and cement.

In the first year of the project, Added granted licences for 22 industrial facilities in the UAE capital. They operate within the medical, food and electrical sectors with a total investment of Dh286.4 million. ($77.9m)

Of these, seven were granted to food production with a total investment of Dh9.8m. Six licences were granted to companies in the medical industries with investments totalling Dh261.8m and nine licences for the electrical industries sector with investments reaching Dh14.8m.

The basic industries project contributes to self-sufficiency in industrial commodities across Abu Dhabi and promotes local industrial investment within key sectors such as steel, aluminium and cement, said Mohammed Al Shorafa, chairman of Added.

Abu Dhabi will also raise the local manufacturing share of industrial commodities in the medical, food and electrical sectors to more than 25 per cent the current share.

The emirate's push towards self-sufficiency has helped to support local manufacturing over the past year.

The Abu Dhabi Medical Supplies Company has signed two agreements with Rafed Company to supply ventilator-related injections and medical consumables with a total value of Dh3.2m, according to Added.

In addition, it has co-ordinated with Abu Dhabi's petrochemicals company Borouge to provide the plastic raw materials for local medical use, to manufacture medical injections with a total investment of Dh94.28m. The partnership will raise the production capacity to 11 per cent as of July 2021, with a total monthly volume of 61 million injections.