Abu Dhabi to target Emirati jobs, build schools, boost home loans under stimulus plan

Abu Dhabi Executive Council has announced details of 10 initiatives that fall under the society pillar of the government’s Dhs50bn ($13.6bn) stimulus programme.

The Tomorrow 2021 plan was first announced by Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince in June and covers four main areas – business, society, knowledge and innovation and lifestyle.

Last week, the council announced initiatives to stimulate business growth including expedited licencing procedures, Dhs10bn ($2.72bn) of SME financing from local banks, a new public private partnership law and the settling of late payments.

Read: Abu Dhabi confirms Dhs10bn of SME loans, PPP law, faster payments under stimulus plan

Further programmes announced under the society pillar on Sunday cover education, employment, housing, community and social support.

They include a ‘sustainable’ job creation system to offer training, opportunities and placements and secure private sector jobs for Emiratis. The council said 1,500 UAE nationals had secured jobs over the last three months and a further 3,500 immediate vacancies had been identified.

The government will also establish six private schools offering 15,000 seats by 2021 and a further 15,000 seats under government charter schools by 2019 to boost the emirate’s education capacity. The charter school programme is expected to save Dhs20,000 ($5,445) per student per academic year.

Other initiatives include plans to double the number of housing loans given to nationals to 5,000 per year and an increase to the provisioning of housing to 15,000 units over the next three years. These will include the 2,500 units approved this year and 2,500 pending approval before the end of 2018.

In terms of community infrastructure, Dhs3bn ($816.7m) has been allocated to develop facilities at Khalifa City, Mohamed bin Zayed City, Shakhbout City and Zayed City. While wider community initiatives include the Maan agenda to raise public awareness of building a community, a social investment fund that will provide funding for associated projects and services and the creation of volunteering opportunities.

Furthermore, the government will provide financial and non-financial assistance to families across the emirate with the goal of helping them become financially independent.

This will be launched in the first quarter of 2019.