Abu Dhabi: Al Gharbia, or the Western Region of Abu Dhabi, has become the largest investment destination in the UAE with development projects to the tune of Dh300 billion.
Al Gharbia covers an area of 40,000 square kilometres, approximately 60 per cent of the area of the emirate and its development projects testify to the Abu Dhabi Vision for 2030.
A report on Al Gharbia revealed all this and “a growing market of world class opportunities”. The report also showed that the population of Al Gharbia region adds up to just about 9 per cent of the population of the emirate of Abu Dhabi.
“The population of Abu Dhabi is almost 1.96 million while the population of Al Gharbia is 184,508, which is 9 per cent of the population of the emirate of Abu Dhabi,” according to the report.
The report put Al Gharbia’s contribution to Abu Dhabi’s total yearly Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at 44 per cent in 2011.
Al Gharbia, a hub for diversified projects, hosts the first nuclear power plant (Barakah area) in the Middle East, the biggest solar power plant in the world (Shams 1), and the largest petrochemicals facility in the world. Al Gharbia also is a hub for the largest oilfields and refineries in the UAE with expansion projects at Ruwais refinery alone running up to Dh16 billion.
Investments are consistently growing, with hundreds of billions of dirhams being invested in development projects in key sectors such as oil and gas (Dh120 billion), power generation (Dh62 billion), infrastructure and transportation (Dh54 billion) and tourism (Dh4 billion) among others.
