Crisis will not affect Dubai's future

Dubain Economy

The ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, has insisted that it will pay off its massive debts and drive forward with its ambitious development projects.

The economic crisis "will not deter Dubai's ambitions of implementing its development plans and will not divert it from its leading position and will not keep it from playing its role in the arena of the international economy," said Sheikh Mohammed.

Dubai was hit quite badly by the recession, its real estate sector in particular, and because it doesn't have lucrative oil resources like Abu Dhabi, its recovery is likely to be harder fought. But despite this, a study by Standard and Poor's last month estimated that state-related companies in Dubai are due to repay nearly 50 billion dollars in debt - 70 percent of the Gulf emirate's estimated GDP - within the next three years.

As means of assistance, Dubai is to issue treasury bonds worth 20 million dollars to help companies meet their repayments.

Multi-billion-dollar projects frozen

Sheikh Mohammed expressed confidence that the second part of Dubai's bond programme will be "highly received by subscribers" and said the resulting money "would be directed to settle Dubai financial obligations in the coming years," as reported by Middle-East-Online.com.

Despite many projects being frozen as a result of the crisis, such as the highly grandiose 95-billion-dollar development of a new district within Dubai, the government has promised to press on with infrastructure projects, including the construction of the Dubai Metro which opened in September.

Sheikh Mohammed added that, "as the global economy stabilizes, Dubai today is well-placed to exploit its inherent strength and its key strategic location to start new rounds in its march towards excellence."

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