Dubai announces PPP projects worth $7 bln

DUBAI

The government of Dubai on Oct. 10 announced a diversified portfolio of public-private partnership (PPP) projects worth more than 25 billion dirhams ($6.81 billion).

The investments, announced at a PPP conference held in the regional tourism and business hub, include seven urban development projects worth 22.58 billion dirhams, 14 road and transport projects worth 2.39 billion dirhams and eight projects in health and safety at 526 million dirhams.

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates on Oct. 7 announced a plan for net-zero emissions by 2050, and would oversee 600 billion dirhams ($163 billion) in investment in renewable energy. This makes it the first country in the Middle East and North Africa region to launch a concrete initiative to achieve that climate commitment.

The Gulf state has launched several measures over the past year - coinciding with 50 years since the country’s founding - to attract investment and foreigners to help the economy recover from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The economic initiatives also come amid a growing economic rivalry with Gulf neighbor Saudi Arabia to be the region’s trade and business hub.

“We are committed to seize the opportunity to cement our leadership on climate change within our region and take this key economic opportunity to drive development, growth and new jobs as we pivot our economy and nation to net zero,” said Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai.

The UAE. has in the past 15 years invested $40 billion in clean energy, the government said. Its first nuclear power plant, Barakah, has been connected to the national grid and the UAE aims to produce 14 GW of clean energy by 2030, up from about 100 MW in 2015.