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The Abu Dhabi Projects and Infrastructure Centre (ADPIC), which oversees capital projects in the emirate, has approved a budget of 66 billion dirhams ($17.96 billion) to be utilised across 144 projects in 2024.
The projects will span various sectors, including housing and quality of life, education and human capital, tourism, and natural resources, according to the Abu Dhabi Media Office.
More than AED59 billion has been allocated to establish various housing and public facilities in the emirate, including the development of communities.
Another AED4 billion has been assigned for education and human capital, followed by more than AED1.1 billion for boosting tourism across the emirate.
Finally, an estimated AED50 million has been designated for projects devoted to enhancing the emirate’s natural resources.
ADPIC further stated nearly 13,000 housing units for UAE citizens will be developed in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
The planned investments also seek to extend developments in social spaces, including mosques, community and sports centres, retail offerings, along with police and civil defence facilities, and more, ADPIC said. These will be supplemented by the construction and enhancement of parks, public spaces, walk lanes, playgrounds, and specialised cycle tracks.
ADPIC further announced that the vocational training and education sectors will receive a boost in investments. Along with renovations and capacity expansions of schools and training centres, additional projects will also be rolled out to support early childhood learning and general human capital development.
Budgets have been allocated to create and maintain multiple cultural destinations and buildings to support the emirate’s tourism sector.
To bolster food security in the emirate a series of investments in diverse aquaculture farms, which include breeding, raising, and harvesting a range of species of fish, shellfish, has also been earmarked.
(Writing by Bindu Rai, editing by Seban Scaria)