The emirate of Fujairah presents comprehensive urban projects and master plans with positive cross-border impact attracting Saudi investments in a number of mega projects

Fujairah, UAE, 12 November 2014 : The emirate of Fujairah, like other emirates of the UAE, receives official support and encouragement in all circumstances. The emirate’s investment attractiveness increases in proportion to the rising private sector’s investment, which mainly targets manufacturing and tourism enterprises, the two most vibrant sectors in the emirate. Enterprises in these sectors played a significant role in discovering the emirate’s true potential and recognising its existing and future opportunities. It is apparent that the emirate is moving towards the creation of its Strategic Master Plan Project 2040 by end of the year, which will set a framework for urban, cultural and sustainable development and will identify areas and sources of economic growth, by carrying out a host of strategic long term projects.

According to the available information, the scale of the planned urban projects will exceed all the expectations and initial plans, as the emirate enjoys official backing and investment attractiveness that entices the private sector. The urban planning will include service projects such as the flagship development of a three kilometre Corniche along with all entertaining and leisure amenities such as restaurants and cafes. A number of modern shopping centres will be built to serve the residents and visitors of the emirate and the surrounding areas, and sports facilities including a sports complex will also be constructed. Moreover, the announcement of Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed residential City came in line with the urban planning of the emirate, and will serve to add more momentum, boost business activities, create more jobs and drive growth in productive and service sectors in the emirate. 

Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Residential City will be built on an area of 2.2 km and will boast 1,100 residential units in addition to schools, mosques, clinics, parks and shopping malls. The AED1.4 billion project is strategically situated near Fujairah International Airport and offers world-class facilities and will contribute to restructure the real estate market, and the concept of urban planning in the emirate. The residential city will give a further boost to the economic and investment activities in the emirate in the present time and in the future.

Capitalizing on its abundant picturesque coastal scenery and its unique historical and urban sites, the emirate relies on its tourism sector to attract investment and will continue to do so in the near future. Development of tourism facilities and the opening of 4-star and 5-star hotels, in addition to a large number of business and tourism projects planned or underway in the emirate continue to bring Fujairah closer than ever to achieving a quantum jump in urban development.. Statistics from tourism sector revealed that over 600 new hotel rooms will enter the hospitality market, in addition to a mall, adding significant value to the urban and architectural development in the emirate, and further enhancing Fujairah’s reputation as an important tourist destination in the region.

With the increasing activity in Fujairah’s family tourism sector and the growth in value to AED37 billion, a figure that shows the magnitude of this sector and its contribution to economic growth, the family tourism sector demonstrates outstanding performance and potential as it leads the way in the region. This growth was reflected in all the emirates and served to expand and diversify the tourism service sector in the emirates. The emirate of Fujairah is expected to grab a rising share of overall national tourism activity, according to the current plans. The tourism community in the emirate expects about 1.4 million visitors by end of this year. The number of hotel rooms in the emirate is 2800 rooms, which shows the high demand and reflects the huge investment in this sector and its impact on all the other associated productive and service sectors in the emirate.

The emirate of Fujairah has promising investment conditions to equal the growing opportunities from tourism development, with so many quarries, cement plants and brick plans and other building material factories operating in the emirate which are directly and indirectly related to real estate sector in the country, a sector that is the most dynamic real estate sector in the region and the entire world. These facilities helped raise the feasibility of investment in the real estate associated sectors due to the emirate’s rich natural resources and raw materials that will meet the needs in all circumstances. The continuous activity has triggered the establishment of supporting sectors to compliment the building and construction sectors. The emirate is rich with factories of different sizes and activities resulting from the current and expected building activity and the expectation to see more growth in the light of the strategic projects already announced and those still in planning phase.

Fujairah boasts a strategic location, connecting all the markets of the Arab Gulf Countries, the Indian Sub-continent, the Middle East and Europe. This important location helps boost economic activities. Fujairah is also known as a centre for re-export of goods, as a result of prudent polices set by the government to attract foreign investment and establish business partnerships with international investment institutions. This policy has contributed to setting many industrial, service, tourism and commercial promotion enterprises. The emirate’s local economy benefits from the abundant raw materials necessary for investment projects, customs facilities for many goods, free movement, travel and practicing business activities, low rent for industrial plots and supporting state-of-the-art infrastructure. Fujairah aims to encourage industrial and business enterprises, and provides a free zone that offers a lot of facilities to serve Arab and foreign investments and benefits from foreign investment opportunities, making the emirate an investment and tourist point of attraction in the GCC region, especially for the KSA, which is behind the largest number of investors and visitors to the emirate.  

In conclusion, the emirate’s reliance on its golden trilogy: the Port, Fujairah International Airport and the industrial areas, is critical to continue development projects, economic growth and the establishment of many trading, real estate and tourism enterprises. Elements such as the multitude of specialized industrial areas, strategic grain reserve, tourism excellence, real estate and commercial development and low cost of living have significantly contributed to growth the enterprises and put them on the success path. It is worth mentioning that the emirate of Fujairah has benefited from the dynamic activity of the UAE economy in terms of growth in GDP to reach AED1.5 trillion, with a growth rate of 4.8%, while the country has an attractive investment environment supported by comprehensive and integrated infrastructure consisting of airports, ports, telecommunications, road networks and high quality and competitive logistic services.