Business | General
Saud charts out economic roadmap for RAK's future
From the hilltop palace, the entire town of Ras Al Khaimah is visible - partly green, partly barren - although the landscape is full of curves.
- By Saifur Rahman, Business Editor
- Published: 00:06 July 18, 2008
- Shaikh Saud is a visionary in the country who thought of turning rocks and limestones into an important industry. Today, Ras Al Khaimah is the biggest source for cement and rocks that are reshaping the UAE landscape.
- Image Credit: Supplied picture
Ras Al Khaimah: From the hilltop palace, the entire town of Ras Al Khaimah is visible - partly green, partly barren - although the landscape is full of curves.
The beautiful landscape has some empty spots where well-planned developments could complement the town's overall development, look and feel.
It might not take much effort to identify those opportunities. But it takes a lot of courage to undertake those small steps that would have profound impact on the emirate's economy.
For ages, Ras Al Khaimah remained a sleepy town - a collection of small settlements almost isolated from the rest of the country till one fine day in June 2003, when Shaikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi was named the Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah - things began to change for the better.
Ras Al Khaimah is not blessed with oil, gas or minerals like some of its neighbouring emirates.
It, however has a few assets - limestones, mountains, rocks, unspoilt sandy beaches and, of course, natural beauty. It needed a visionary leader to turn these advantages into economic opportunities.
"Tourism, industry and services - are the core of my economic vision," with these few words, Shaikh Saud sums up his economic gameplan.
"We are creating a good investment climate and strong economic environment for people to live and work in Ras Al Khaimah."
Shaikh Saud is a visionary in the country who thought of turning rocks and limestones into money-spinning industries. In 1991, he set up RAK Ceramics - one of the world's largest ceramic tiles manufacturers - that turned to be a wealth-generating engine.
Today Ras Al Khaimah is the biggest source for cement and rocks that are reshaping the UAE's development landscape. The majority of the island developments - The Palm trilogy, Al Marjan Islands, Mina Al Arab, Al Nujoom Island, The World, Dubai Maritime City and others are heavily relying on rocks extracted from the mountains of Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah.
That changed everything. Ras Al Khaimah is no longer a sleepy town. It's a vibrant economy on a roll.
In 2003, Shaikh Saud opened the emirate's real estate sector for foreign ownership and investment. Since then, it has attracted billions of US dollars into its land, in real estate and industries.
In five years' time, he has managed to put the emirate's growth engine on the fifth gear. Today, hundreds of thousands of workers are busy putting the bricks together to place the city among the fastest growing economies in the region. Projects like Mina Al Arab, Al Marjan Island, Bab Al Bahr, RAK Convention Centre, RAK Financial City, RAK Free Trade Zone, The Cove, La Hoya Bay, Al Hamra Village, the Gateway City, Dana Islands are part of a vision that is transforming the state's economy.
Last year, his government took a risky decision - launching an airline. It now carries full load passengers from Bangladesh and Kerala.
However, these developments collectively form just a beginning. In an interview with Gulf News on the sidelines of a media briefing at his hilltop palace, Shaikh Saud outlines his economic roadmap for the future. Excerpts:
Gulf News: How would the economic landscape of Ras Al Khaimah change in five years from now?
Shaikh Saud: Projects like Al Hamra Village, Al Marjan Island and the Gateway City are not dreams. They are a reality and you can see the works. All our economic activities are focused on three things: Tourism, Industries and Services - that will create opportunities for people to come and live in Ras Al Khaimah.
We have a development programme. We are putting together a masterplan that will reshape the emirate's future.
Ras Al Khaimah is undergoing a major development and we expect the economy to grow at between 15 to 18 per cent this year
Could you kindly elaborate on the plan?
Our development vision is based on economic diversification. By diversifying, we are able to appeal to a wider audience and investors to suit everyone's needs. Our industrial cities will cater to light industries and value-added manufacturing units, while RAK Financial City will attract the financial community. RAK Offshore will appeal to the offshore companies. So, we are going to have a balanced economic masterplan which will cater to everyone.
The government of Ras Al Khaimah is issuing a Dh2 billion bond that is good for the financial community.
On the aviation sector, we are investing in our airport and our national carrier RAK Airways is expanding network and fleet.
What type of a city will Ras Al Khaimah be? What type of society will it become like with so many foreigners?
Every great city has its distinct culture, identity and character. Ras Al Khaimah will be a modern metropolis with its own distinct identity, such as cities like London, Madrid and others. We will retain our own look, feel and identity while at the same time take care of the others, foreign citizens.
What about people - those who will live here? How will you take care of them?
We have a good legal framework in the UAE. As part of the federation, we follow those rules and regulations, which I believe, protects the rights of our citizens and foreigners. So, in Ras Al Khaimah, we do not need to add new laws.
The next generation will be our future. Human development remains at the centre of everything that we do.
However, to make business easier, we have created our own regulations and we will continue to do so to make processes easier and simple.
What about the labourers and their living conditions? How will you ensure that their employers will look after them?
People come here to improve their lives. We want to look after everyone. We do not want to drag people, not but attract them and look after them.
In the next few years, we will require more than 200,000 new workforce.
Think about a worker from Bangladesh. He's feeding a family back home while developing skills here while earning. We want to take good care of them.
You have natural beaches and mountains. What about the ongoing projects? How are you going to link them?
Ras Al Khaimah has been blessed with beach, mountain and natural beauty. We have initiated projects and will make the necessary connection that will attract wider audience, investors and tourists who could enjoy both.
What about the challenges? Isn't there a skill shortage, especially when you want industrial development?
Nothing is without challenges. However, we have the knowledge, capabilities and the knowhow to face them.
We are not addressing it in any different way from others. We are attracting talents, people are coming to work and live here.
We have overcome most of the development challenges.
That's why we have also emphasised on education so much. Ras Al Khaimah is going to become a centre for education, healthcare, research and development. We have already attracted a number of top international institutions and universities. The Government of Ras Al Khaimah is also participating in a number of these projects.
Lots of people are investing in properties in Ras Al Khaimah. What about their residence visas?
Residence visas have certain requirements. People who buy properties will have to be able to support them, either through employment or business. One could either be sponsored by a company or a developer.
However, we want to support the property buyers and investors.
One of the attractions of the UAE is that it is largely a tax-free society. This advantage is going to disappear as the country is set to introduce a sales tax next year. How concerned are you?
The value-added tax (VAT) will replace the customs duty. We want to get rid of the customs duty. So VAT is not going to change anything, just the format. For consumers it's going to be the same. So I don't think anyone should be concerned or panic.
What are your thoughts on e-government? Any plans for e-government plans in Ras Al Khaimah?
We have already launched e-government project last month to facilitate online government services.
It is an excellent tool to communicate and deliver service to people and we will introduce more services online to help residents and citizens.
Pipeline: Major projects
- Mina Al Arab
- Al Marjan Island
- RAK Convention Centre
- The Gateway City
- Al Hamra Village
- The Cove
- La Hoya Bay
- Babyan Tree Resort
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