Infrastructure development to boost UAE economy

UAE Minister of Economy Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri has asserted that the UAE is out of the economic crisis and major infrastructure projects have put the nation back on the development track.

Addressing media reports criticising Dubai’s debt handling and its restructuring plans, Al Mansouri said: “We are probably the first country which managed to come out of the crisis. This is our answer to the media accusations coming from some of the western countries.”

“What we have proven is, without too much talk we can resolve this [economic issues] in a much more practical way than many other places in the world.”

His comments came on the sidelines of the opening of a new metro station in Dubai. where he lauded Dubai’s efforts in building major infrastructure projects.

“Dubai took a very wise approach towards addressing its economic issues and the effect of the real estate crisis. We are very proud of the team that worked very hard to come up with a solution and we had all the confidence that they could do something like this and it was proven.”

Asked about the demand for infrastructure projects, Al Mansouri replied: “Definitely when you start a project, you don’t wait until there is an immediate demand for these projects. You start planning way earlier and this is the approach the government of Dubai has taken all the time.”

— muaz@khaleejtimes.com