A handful of sand in Taweelah and a giant leap for the Gulf
- Published: 08 June 2007 16:00
- Author:Edmund O'Sullivan | More by this Author
- Last Updated: 11 January 2008 15:28
On the last day of May, spades silvered for the occasion were simultaneously thrust into the sand at Taweelah, at roughly the halfway point on the road from Abu Dhabi to Dubai, at the groundbreaking for one of the region's great industrial initiatives. It is in an area of featureless sand, close to the location of two of Abu Dhabi's privatised power and water plants. In 30 months, the area will be transformed into the world's largest single-site aluminium smelter and the centrepiece of a new industrial zone almost as big as Paris.
Estimated to cost $5,000 million, Emirates Aluminium (Emal), a 50:50 joint venture of Mubadala Development Company and Dubai Aluminium (Dubal), is the biggest result so far from the growing business partnership between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. It is the fourth greenfield aluminium project announced in the region since the start of the boom. By the end of this year, Abu Dhabi may confirm that a second worldscale aluminium plant, this time a joint venture with Rio Zinc, will be built in Ruwais.
In the same week, and 100 miles to the north, Burj Dubai reached a new vertical milestone when it became the second-tallest building on earth. Some time this summer, it will overtake the present record-holder to become the world's highest habitable tower.
Financial challengeAt the start of May, Bahrain celebrated the opening of phase one of the Bahrain Financial Harbour, its response to the challenge posed by financial centres opened in Doha and Dubai. Later in the month, Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical confirmed plans for the world's largest integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex. Across the GCC, old cities are being transformed and new ones created as more than $1 trillion worth of projects move ahead.
But Taweelah is a special place in a special time for the region. Plans call for the creation of the largest integrated industrial project in the UAE, around the smelter of the Khalifa Port & Industrial Zone (KPIZ).
The project will also be one of the biggest in the Middle East. It will be connected to a new port that will be constructed on land being reclaimed from the Gulf and managed by DP World.
The port will have bigger capacity than the present capacity at Jebel Ali, the Gulf's busiest port in 2007.
The new smelter will feed metal to a variety of new industries at the heart of a new industrial free zone. Other projects on the KPIZ agenda include a world-scale steel mill and an auto-parts industry. There will be a direct connection to the new Abu Dhabi airport 10 kilometres away on the other side of the Shaikh Zayed road.
Abu Dhabi has joined the GCC's race to the future and is inspiring the rise of the new Gulf economy with a wave of huge projects. They include the development of three islands close to Abu Dhabi city, an expansion of heavy industries at Ruwais, a new joint venture company to exploit its sour gas reserves, and more than 20 industrial zones in different parts of the emirate.
Privatisation driveThe emirate is mobilising private savings and directing them into areas that were previously the domain of the state, including health and education.
The power and water desalination industry is already largely privatised and Abu Dhabi's wastewater system is following suit. Its new airport will be managed by a foreign company. Etihad, the national airline founded at the end of 2003, is constructing a global network.
Later this summer, Abu Dhabi will unveil details of a comprehensive development strategy designed to diversify its economy away from dependence on exporting crude oil. The Taweelah projects are among its highlights. The plan demonstrates growing confidence in the global role that the new industries of the UAE and the Gulf will play in the future.
There are challenges. Inflation is a worry. Hopes that GCC currency union will occur in 2010 have been hit by diverging regional e
On the last day of May, spades silvered for the occasion were simultaneously thrust into the sand at Taweelah, at roughly the halfway point on the road from Abu Dhabi to Dubai, at the groundbreaking for one of the region's great industrial initiatives. It is in an area of featureless sand, close to the location of two of Abu Dhabi's privatised power and water plants. In 30 months, the area will be transformed into the world's largest single-site aluminium smelter and the centrepiece of a new industrial zone almost as big as Paris.
Estimated to cost $5,000 million, Emirates Aluminium (Emal), a 50:50 joint venture of Mubadala Development Company and Dubai Aluminium (Dubal), is the biggest result so far from the growing business partnership between Abu Dhabi and Dubai. It is the fourth greenfield aluminium project announced in the region since the start of the boom. By the end of this year, Abu Dhabi may confirm that a second worldscale aluminium plant, this time a joint venture with Rio Zinc, will be built in Ruwais. In the same week, and 100 miles to the north, Burj Dubai reached a new vertical milestone when it became the second-tallest building on earth. Some time this summer, it will overtake the present record-holder to become the world's highest habitable tower. Financial challengeAt the start of May, Bahrain celebrated the opening of phase one of the Bahrain Financial Harbour, its response to the challenge posed by financial centres opened in Doha and Dubai. Later in the month, Saudi Aramco and Dow Chemical confirmed plans for the world's largest integrated refinery and petrochemicals complex. Across the GCC, old cities are being transformed and new ones created as more than $1 trillion worth of projects move ahead. But Taweelah is a special place in a special time for the region. Plans call for the creation of the largest integrated industrial project in the UAE, around the smelter of the Khalifa Port & Industrial Zone (KPIZ). The project will also be one of the biggest in the Middle East. It will be connected to a new port that will be constructed on land being reclaimed from the Gulf and managed by DP World. The port will have bigger capacity than the present capacity at Jebel Ali, the Gulf's busiest port in 2007. The new smelter will feed metal to a variety of new industries at the heart of a new industrial free zone. Other projects on the KPIZ agenda include a world-scale steel mill and an auto-parts industry. There will be a direct connection to the new Abu Dhabi airport 10 kilometres away on the other side of the Shaikh Zayed road. Abu Dhabi has joined the GCC's race to the future and is inspiring the rise of the new Gulf economy with a wave of huge projects. They include the development of three islands close to Abu Dhabi city, an expansion of heavy industries at Ruwais, a new joint venture company to exploit its sour gas reserves, and more than 20 industrial zones in different parts of the emirate. Privatisation driveThe emirate is mobilising private savings and directing them into areas that were previously the domain of the state, including health and education. The power and water desalination industry is already largely privatised and Abu Dhabi's wastewater system is following suit. Its new airport will be managed by a foreign company. Etihad, the national airline founded at the end of 2003, is constructing a global network. Later this summer, Abu Dhabi will unveil details of a comprehensive development strategy designed to diversify its economy away from dependence on exporting crude oil. The Taweelah projects are among its highlights. The plan demonstrates growing confidence in the global role that the new industries of the UAE and the Gulf will play in the future. There are challenges. Inflation is a worry. Hopes that GCC currency union will occur in 2010 have been hit by diverging regional eThis content is only available to full MEED package subscribers (MEED magazine and MEED.com).
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