Dubai Department of Finance has issued Notice No2 of 2008 that starts the process for drawing up the budget for 2009. It is expected that more than 33 per cent of Dubai’s budget expenditure in 2009 will be earmarked for infrastructure projects.
In 2008, budget surplus touched AED 11.4 billion compared to AED 5.1 billion in 2007. The revenues for fiscal year 2008 in Dubai are expectedly pegged at AED 135 billion, while planned spending is estimated at AED
123.6 billion. In the UAE federal budget for 2008, 24.2 per cent was earmarked infrastructural projects.
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Prime Minister and Vice President and Ruler of Dubai has said that Dubai’s economy had exceeded all expectations as the targets set out till 2010 has been achieved in half the time. Sheikh Mohammed said, “In the year 2000, the plan was to increase GNP to $30 billion by 2010. In 2005 that figure was exceeded, with GNP reaching 37 billion US dollars. The plan also included an increase in income per capita to $23,000 by the year 2010. In 2005 the average income per capita reached $31,000.”
Telecommunications: Telecommunications across all platforms in the UAE are fast and effective with fixed-line, internet and mobile connectivity amongst the best in the world. The 2007 Global Information Technology Report (GITR), commissioned by the World Economic Forum(WEF) in cooperation with Insead Business School, puts the UAE at the top of the ‘Net-worked Readiness Index’ in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region and ranks the UAE in 29th position worldwide out of 122 countries, beating many European nations. Etisalat, formed in 1976, have 6.3 million customers on its mobile phone network, 1 million active users of 3.5G and 3G data services, 1.3 million subscribers to the fixed line network, 800,000 subscribers and over 2.5 million internet users. When du’s 1 million mobile customers are included, the telecom sector’s penetration rate is the highest in the region and comparable to the best in the world.
Airports: UAE alone account for 60 percent of all airport investment in the Gulf. Geographically, the country’s reach is considerable, sweeping through Africa and the Middle East and linking these regions to Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas. Over AED 77.5 billion (US$28.4 billion) is being spent to develop 7 airports in the UAE.
Road Network: The Dubai Government has come up with a plan to enhance and integrate the existing road network with the public transport system. This strategic plan will cater to the existing and future road development requirements in Dubai until 2020. The government has allocated a budget of AED 44 billion to develop road infrastructure that will add 500 km of new roads in the emirate.
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