Abu Dhabi is pressing ahead with its efforts to promote the non-oil sector in the Emirate, which grew by nine per cent last year, said the director general of the Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) at a conference in the UAE capital.

The growth of the non-oil industrial manufacturing sector is more than double the average GDP growth in Abu Dhabi and over three times more than global growth indices, Ayman Al Makkawy told the recently concluded Meed Abu Dhabi Conference.

The need to press ahead with the continued diversification of the economy is one of the principal reasons why Abu Dhabi and the UAE are not expected to slow project spending despite falling oil prices.

According to data from Meed Projects, a top online projects tracker in the region, Abu Dhabi awarded a record $50 billion worth of projects alone in 2009 despite the global recession and a drop in the average oil from $99 a barrel to $58 a barrel.

Moreover the peak of the regional real estate boom in 2006-07 took place when oil prices averaged $67-$73 a barrel, prices similar to today. And with regional governments having built up considerable foreign currency reserves, they have cash to continue financing projects despite any budgetary shortfalls, said Meed Projects report.

In Abu Dhabi’s case, the value of planned and un-awarded projects is considerable, totalling close to $100 billion. The largest sector going forward is construction, followed by oil, gas and power. Total GCC contract awards for 2014 as a whole are expected to surpass $160 billion for the very first time, while the UAE is forecast to once again become the largest projects market in the region, according to Meed Projects.

The ninth Abu Dhabi Conference was organised with the aim of providing various stakeholders a comprehensive overview of the high value sectors with growth opportunities, in line with government plans, such as urban planning, energy, industry and infrastructure.

During the opening session of the conference, the UAE’s Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (Enec) chief executive officer Mohamed Al-Hammadi told conference attendees that the Baraka plant is on schedule and budget, with more than 1,000 companies currently involved in the project that is designed to have ultimate capacity of 5,600MW.

Al-Hammadi said that construction work on the first unit was 61 per cent completed and that the first reactor was on schedule to meet the commissioning deadline of 2017.

Enec is planning for one reactor to come online every year from 2017, with the fourth and final reactor scheduled for commissioning in 2020.

Al-Hammadi told the conference that the nuclear scheme would reduce 12 million tonnes of CO2 emissions by 2020.

The Enec CEO said that the $20 billion nuclear project was benefitting the local economy and creating jobs for nationals. He said that over 1,000 local companies were involved in the nuclear programme, and 62 per cent of the 1,300 employees of the nuclear body were local nationals.

Enec awarded a South Korean consortium led by Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) a $20 billion contract to build four reactors in 2009. – TradeArabia News Service