Western Region heads to China to drum up investment interest

A team from Western Region Development Council is in China to showcase Al Gharbia for foreign investment.

Business chiefs from the Western Region are travelling to China to drum up investment.

A delegation from the Western Region Development Council (WRDC) will be in the south-eastern Chinese city of Xiamen this week to showcase the region to investors as part of an investment push from Abu Dhabi.

The WRDC team is participating in the 17th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (Cifit).

The annual event, the only one in the country that facilitates bilateral investment, starts today and runs until Wednesday.

The fair also involves an international investment forum.

Besides hosting international investment promotion agencies, the fair showcases opportunities in provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in mainland China.

"The participation of the WRDC in the official UAE trade mission falls in line with Al Gharbia's 2030 plan," said Mohamed Hamad bin Azzan, the WRDC director general.

Participation would help promote "collaboration with the People's Republic of China through the exchange of investment and economic plans with the relevant leading authorities", Cifit said.

Al Gharbia Development Forum, which was held in May, showcased the region's potential for private sector investment to diversify its economy.

Abu Dhabi announced a Dh330 billion package of investment over the next five years.

The WRDCis offering the land it owns around the sparsely populated towns of Madinat Zayed, Ruwais, Liwa, Ghayathi, Mirfa, Sila and Delma Island to UAE developers free of charge, it announced during the forum.

The land can be used to build homes, shops and community services to develop the region's infrastructure.

In return, the council will charge a percentage of rental income on all properties acquired under the scheme after the completion of the projects.

The Western Region is home to the Shams1 solar power plant and a nuclear power plant under construction in partnership with a South Korean consortium.

Also under development are power plants in Ruwais and Ghuwaifat, ports and local housing projects.

The Western Region, or Al Gharbia, composes about 60 per cent of Abu Dhabi's land mass but houses just 11 per cent of the emirate's population.