In total Ghadan 21 will see Dh50 billion invested into the Abu Dhabi economy. Getty Images
In total Ghadan 21 will see Dh50 billion invested into the Abu Dhabi economy. Getty Images
In total Ghadan 21 will see Dh50 billion invested into the Abu Dhabi economy. Getty Images
In total Ghadan 21 will see Dh50 billion invested into the Abu Dhabi economy. Getty Images

Abu Dhabi plans public-private partnership tenders worth Dh10bn


Fareed Rahman
  • English
  • Arabic

Abu Dhabi's government plans to issue tenders worth Dh10 billion under the public-private partnership (PPP) model to boost infrastructure investment in the emirate.

The tenders are part of an initiative dedicated to increasing the use of PPPs and encouraging private sector involvement through the Dh50 billion Ghadan 21 accelerator programme launched by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council last year.

“Today’s announcement ... marks a milestone in our commitment to partner with the private sector to drive Abu Dhabi’s economic transformation,” said Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa Al Hammadi, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development and the Abu Dhabi Investment Office.

“Through the public-private partnerships initiative, the government is providing the private sector with more certainty and transparency around the development and procurement of major infrastructure projects in Abu Dhabi,” he said.

Public-private partnerships are a method that allow a consortium of bidders to design, build, finance and operate an infrastructure asset over long periods of up to 20-30 years. The projects are backed by private financiers, who receive a regular income stream from the asset during the period.

The projects earmarked for development in Abu Dhabi span various sectors including social, municipal and transportation assets, according to a statement from the Abu Dhabi government media office.

The tenders come following the issuance of a law last year to regulate partnerships between public and private sectors. The Abu Dhabi Investment Office, which has a remit to encourage private sector investment in the emirate, is working on its delivery.

The PPP model will give clarity to prospective bidders by providing guidelines on joint structures and ways of working between the government and the private sector. It also details deregulatory measures to facilitate the contract award process, the statement said.

Ghadan 21 has facilitated a series of initiatives, including the launch of Abu Dhabi's new technology centre, Hub71, now home to 39 start-ups.
A new Ventures Fund worth Dh535 million was also rolled out to boost start-ups.

The fund has invested more than Dh60m in several start-ups and a fund manager, including in technology companies Securrency, Trukker, Sarwa, Yacob and Okadoc – all of which are either based in Abu Dhabi or are expanding into the capital.

Other initiatives have been launched to support small businesses, research and development and the housing sector.

"Ghadan 21 is playing a critical role in fostering this shift in Abu Dhabi, and the programme is commencing its second year on a solid footing by weaving the private sector even further into the fabric of our development initiatives," Mr Al Hammadi said.

Analysts welcomed the move to facilitate private sector investment into Abu Dhabi's infrastructure.

“The scope for financing and managing infrastructure through PPP is very promising and wide in the UAE. It attracts private sector investment, new technology and improves the efficiency and sustainability of any project. It also provides a greater role for capital markets in financing projects,” said Nasser Saidi, founder and president of Nasser Saidi & Associates.

Public-private partnerships offer "the benefit of bringing private expertise and capital, while helping to develop the projects in conjunction with the government", said Monica Malik, chief economist at Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank.

She also said higher levels of investment would support economic activity.  Earlier this month, ADCB forecast non-oil growth in the UAE would accelerate to 2.3 per cent this year, up from an estimated 1.7 per cent in 2019 on the back of building investment momentum in Abu Dhabi and Dubai's hosting of Expo 2020.

"Our real non-oil GDP growth forecast already assumes an expansionary fiscal stance. Domestic support will particularly be important given the challenging external backdrop at the beginning of the year.”

What is the definition of an SME?

SMEs in the UAE are defined by the number of employees, annual turnover and sector. For example, a “small company” in the services industry has six to 50 employees with a turnover of more than Dh2 million up to Dh20m, while in the manufacturing industry the requirements are 10 to 100 employees with a turnover of more than Dh3m up to Dh50m, according to Dubai SME, an agency of the Department of Economic Development.

A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors. 

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
MATCH INFO

Uefa Champions League last-16, second leg:

Real Madrid 1 (Asensio 70'), Ajax 4 (Ziyech 7', Neres 18', Tadic 62', Schone 72')

Ajax win 5-3 on aggregate

COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

While you're here

States of Passion by Nihad Sirees,
Pushkin Press

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Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

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One in nine do not have enough to eat

Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.

One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.

The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.

Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.

It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.

On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.

Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.

 

The lowdown

Bohemian Rhapsody

Director: Bryan Singer

Starring: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee

Rating: 3/5

Leaderboard

64 - Gavin Green (MAL), Graeme McDowell (NIR)

65 - Henrik Stenson (SWE), Sebastian Soderberg (SWE), Adri Arnaus (ESP), Victor Perez (FRA), Jhonattan Vegas (VEN)

66 - Phil Mickelson (USA), Tom Lewis (ENG), Andy Sullivan (ENG), Ross Fisher (ENG), Aaron Rai (ENG), Ryan Fox (NZL)

67 - Dustin Johnson (USA), Sebastian Garcia Rodriguez (ESP), Lucas Herbert (AUS), Francesco Laporta (ITA), Joost Luiten (NED), Soren Kjeldsen (DEN), Marcus Kinhult (SWE)

68 - Alexander Bjork (SWE), Matthieu Pavon (FRA), Adrian Meronk (POL), David Howell (ENG), Christiaan Bezuidenhout (RSA), Fabrizio Zanotti (PAR), Sean Crocker (USA), Scott Hend (AUS), Justin Harding (RSA), Jazz Janewattananond (THA), Shubhankar Sharma (IND), Renato Paratore (ITA)

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

 

Rock in a Hard Place: Music and Mayhem in the Middle East
Orlando Crowcroft
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The Bio

Favourite Emirati dish: I have so many because it has a lot of herbs and vegetables. Harees  (oats with chicken) is one of them

Favourite place to go to: Dubai Mall because it has lots of sports shops.

Her motivation: My performance because I know that whatever I do, if I put the effort in, I’ll get results

During her free time: I like to drink coffee - a latte no sugar and no flavours. I do not like cold drinks

Pet peeve: That with every meal they give you a fries and Pepsi. That is so unhealthy

Advice to anyone who wants to be an ironman: Go for the goal. If you are consistent, you will get there. With the first one, it might not be what they want but they should start and just do it

The%20specs%20
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CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
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UK-EU trade at a glance

EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years

Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products

Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries

Smoother border management with use of e-gates

Cutting red tape on import and export of food

Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The bio

Favourite vegetable: Broccoli

Favourite food: Seafood

Favourite thing to cook: Duck l'orange

Favourite book: Give and Take by Adam Grant, one of his professors at University of Pennsylvania

Favourite place to travel: Home in Kuwait.

Favourite place in the UAE: Al Qudra lakes

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

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North Pole stats

Distance covered: 160km

Temperature: -40°C

Weight of equipment: 45kg

Altitude (metres above sea level): 0

Terrain: Ice rock

South Pole stats

Distance covered: 130km

Temperature: -50°C

Weight of equipment: 50kg

Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300

Terrain: Flat ice