DUBAI – United Arab Emirates' industrial sector keeps expanding with a total number of industrial units reaching 4,960 units at the end of 2010 compared to 3,036 factories in 2004, Truth Economic Consultancy, a leading research and consultancy firm, reported. The increase in factories by 1,924 units marks a total increase of 63 percent and an average annual increase of approximately 8.53 percent. The report estimates the number of industrial units for the same period (2010-2017) to increase by 2,812 units, from 4,960 units in 2010 to approximately 7,142 units by 2017, with an estimate growth rate of 44 percent. Accordingly, the size of the labor force in this sector is expected to grow by 198,539 workers, from 382,012 in 2010 to around 580,556 workers by the end of 2017, marking an increase of 52 percent. The report also identifies a set of important recommendations for the industrial sector, stressing the need to speed up the process of drafting, approving and enacting a new industrial legislation, since it forms the backbone for the entire industrial sector, calling for the establishment of an independent ministry of industry, concerned solely with the vital issues of this sector, with the responsibilities of restructuring, regulating and drawing policies and developing related strategic plans across the country. Dubai Industrial City investors invested over AED2 billion in the city to build their factories and their Industrial units. Dubai Industrial City has also invested AED4 billion so far in infrastructure development including energy, water, roads, drainage and irrigation systems, and telecommunication services. These services currently cover 30 percent of the total area of the city that is built on 55 square kilometers. The Truth report also pointed to the increase in the total capital invested in industrial units in the country between 2004 and 2010, from AED63 billion in 2004 to about AED110.2 billion in 2010, marking an increase of about AED47.2 billion, with an average annual growth rate estimated at 9.77 percent. This increase was also accompanied by a rise in manpower in industrial enterprises during the same period, where the number of workers increased by 175.300 workers, from 206.700 workers in 2004, to reach about 382,000 in 2010, marking an increase of 85 percent and an average annual growth rate estimated at 10.78 percent. The report expected the total capital invested in the manufacturing sector to increase to AED162.7 billion by the end of the fiscal year 2017, compared to AED 110.2 billion in 2010, marking an increase of about AED 52.5 billion at a rate of 48 percent. The report further expects the movement of additional investment capital in the industrial sector, highlighting the fact that the industrial sector has witnessed some significant and stable developments recently. Abdulla Belhoul, Managing Director of Dubai Industrial City, said: “We, at Dubai Industrial City, believe in the comprehensive nature of the industrial sector, which cannot be developed effectively and efficiently without providing all the necessary industrial requirements for the success and growth of the sector such as infrastructure, roads, labor villages, modern offices, and energy, amongst many other industrial requirements. – SG
