New Abu Dhabi industrial licences surge 16.6% in H1 2023

Image courtesy: Rustam Azmi/ Getty Images

Abu Dhabi recorded a 16.6 per cent increase in the number of new industrial Rowad licences granted in the city from 204 in July 2022 to 238 in June 2023, according to Abu Dhabi Media Office.

The increase in new Abu Dhabi industrial licences coincided with the first year of operation of the Abu Dhabi Industrial Strategy (ADIS), an initiative that is aimed at strengthening the city’s position as the Middle East’s most competitive industrial hub.

Increased activity was registered across all three stages of the emirate’s manufacturer licencing journey including Rowad, construction and production.

The number of Rowad industrial licences that were issued in the first half of the year jumped 63.3 per cent compared to the same period a year ago.

Capital investments by manufacturers operating in the emirate grew by Dhs12.4bn to Dhs384.1bn over the same period.

Manufacturing facilities made Dhs15.36bn in capital investments, an 85.7 per cent growth from a year earlier. The number of operational manufacturers in the emirate now stands at 966, up from 922 manufacturers at the end of the first half of 2022.

“As an ambitious blueprint to guide the emirate’s manufacturing sector, the Abu Dhabi Industrial Strategy has ushered in a new era in the economic landscape that leverages innovation and advanced technologies to harmonise human development, sustainability, and growth,” said Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, chairman of ADDED.

The value of government tenders that were awarded to ICV-certified companies in the first half of 2023 rose by 58.7 per cent Dhs1.54bn from Dhs0.97bn awarded last year.

The number of manufacturers that joined the Golden List initiative, which aims to increase the demand for locally manufactured goods through government procurement reached 164 establishments, up 29.1 per cent from 127 in H1 2022.

Bolstering Abu Dhabi’s industrial sector

ADIS, which is backed Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED), is aimed at strengthening the city’s position as the regional industrial hub by doubling the size of the sector to Dhs172bn, creating 13,600 new skilled jobs, and increasing non-oil exports to Dhs178.8bn by 2031.

“Our manufacturing sector, which contributed 16.4 per cent to Abu Dhabi’s non-oil GDP in 2022 and represents 49.9 per cent of the total industrial sector in the UAE, is moving from strength to strength, powered by the successful implementation of the industrial strategy’s transformational programmes,” said Al Zaabi.

The initiative involves an investment of Dhs10bn across six transformational programmes including talent development, Industry 4.0, circular economy, homegrown supply chain, and value chain development.

Over the past year, the Industrial Development Bureau (IDB), ADDED’s industrial sector development arm, launched several initiatives to deliver on the goals of the strategy, including the Industrial Talent Programme.

The programme is helping attract, develop, and upskill human capital in the industrial sector to meet the increased demand for knowledge-based jobs. IDB also launched ‘Tech Champions’, a pilot programme to equip employees of food manufacturing factories in Abu Dhabi with Industry 4.0 skills, which graduated its first cohort in May.

IDB also unveiled a smart manufacturing competence centre to support sector-wide Industry 4.0 transition, an incentive programme to support existing industrial SMEs adopting smart manufacturing methods and processes, and a value chain development programme to further enhance the industrial investment ecosystem.

Read: Abu Dhabi economy grows 9.3% in 2022 on non-oil activities boost