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37 New Industrial Establishments Entered Into Production In Abu Dhabi In 2017











 Thirty seven projects covered by industrial licences entered into production in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi last year, 85 percent higher than in the previous year, it has been announced. The total investment value of the new licences was estimated at AED 6.4 billion dirhams distributed among 29 factories in Abu Dhabi, six in Al Ain and two in the Al Dhafra area.

The figures were announced in the annual report on the Industrial Activity Movement in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, released by the Industrial Development Bureau of the Department of Economic Development, DED. By the end of 2017, a total of 1,647 industrial licences were operational in the emirate, including over 1157 licences in Abu Dhabi, 398 licences in Al Ain, 47 licences in Al Dhafra, and 45 licences for industry pioneers.

The report said that licence activities included over 160 for chemical industries, 428 for metal industries, 393 building materials licences, 210 for fibreglass, plastic and sponge, 176 for wood, cardboard and paper industries, 125 for food industries, 86 equipment and devices licences, 43 licenses for clothing and leather industries, and 26 Recycling Industries licences.

Khalifa bin Salem Al Mansouri, the Under-Secretary of the DED, noted that the Government of Abu Dhabi was keen to enhance the role of the industrial sector as one of the main engines of the Abu Dhabi economy by targeting particular industrial areas, some of which depend on major existing industries in Abu Dhabi, in line with the strategic plan objectives adopted by the Industrial Development Bureau, in order to achieve the objectives of the axis of economic development set by Abu Dhabi plan He said that the Bureau is seeking to achieve its strategic objectives during the next phase through effective supervision and coordination of its implementation plan, with the involvement of stakeholders from the public and private sectors, to improve the competitiveness of the Emirate in the industrial sector.

The report included a number of indicators, the most important showing that 86 new licences were issued in 2017, up from 22 in 2016. 37 licences moved to the production stage, compared to around 20 in 2016.

684 licences for projects already in production were renewed, up from 650 in 2016, while 287 licences in the ‘under process’ stage and yet to come into production were renewed, up from around 257 the previous year.

According to Al Mansouri, the Industrial Development Bureau is working to align its strategic objectives with those of the Abu Dhabi Government in the coming years by focusing on providing an investment environment that supports the industrial sector and which meets the needs of foreign and local investors, such as industrial funding, intellectual property protection and Foreign Ownership laws and others.

He noted that "This will require a major change in the growth of the industrial sector, through the shift from government investment in the industrial sectors to investment in policies and initiatives that will improve competitiveness and maximise the attractiveness of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi for investors willing to get involved in industrial activities in the emirate."

During 2017, the DED’s Industrial Development Bureau officially launched the "Industry Pioneers" licence, which takes a legal form of an "Individual Corporation." This licence can be issued withi9n 15 minutes and is valid for a year, renewable, without the requirement to have industrial land allocated or an "Establishment Contract" and "Industry Pioneers" licence, as is the case with other forms of legal entities. These will be issued once the "Establishment Contract" has been made available, and both can replace the initial licence.

Last year, the Bureau’s report showed, 86 "Industry Pioneers" licences were issued, including over 14 licences for chemical industries, 15 metal industry licences, 15 building materials licences, 14 plastic, fibreglass and sponge licences, 7 licences for wood, cardboard and paper industries, 10 licences for food industries, 8 equipment and devices assembly licences, 2 clothing and leather licences and one recycling industry licence.

Ahmed Hilal Al Bloushi, Acting Director-General of the Bureau, said that the " Industry Pioneers " licence is designed to enable investors or local businessmen to establish their activities and to give them sufficient time to provide all the requirements of the project, including industrial land, a licence to build and bring machinery and equipment according to the required standards and specifications and other requirements.

He noted that the "Industry Pioneers " licence covers a total of 888 out of 909 defined existing industrial activities, according to the fourth version of the International Standard Classification of Activities, ISIC 4.0. These activities do not require external or technical approvals, and can be directly approved by the Industry Development Bureau.

The Bureau’s report said that 28,404 transactions related to industrial licencing were completed during 2017, an increase of 8.3 percent compared to 2016. These included over 26,400 transactions for customs exemptions, 684 transactions for renewal of licences for industrial production, 314 licences for technical adjustments, 430 transactions for payment of fees, 287 renewal of "under process" licences, 86 new licences for "Industry Pioneers", 194 transactions for administrative amendments and 9 cancellations of licences.

Al Bloushi explained that transactions related to industrial licences have now been integrated with the services provided by the DED’s Abu Dhabi Business Centre, through the "Economic Licencing System" on the DED’s website and the ADBC application. This allows industrial investors to quickly complete their transactions and obtain the industrial licence in a timely manner.

He expressed the belief that this will enhance the business environment in the industrial sector and will facilitate speedy completion by investors of their transactions.

Last year, he said, the Bureau had paid inspection visits to 20 new factories in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra.

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