Dubai reaffirms 4.5% GDP target

Dubai is expected to achieve a 4.5 per cent growth in gross domestic product, or GDP, in 2012, it was reaffirmed by Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Fiscal Committee.
The emirate’s GDP grew by around 2.5 per cent in 2010 and more than three per cent in 2011, according to recent estimates.
Dubai’s economy will grow by 4.4 or 4.5 per cent this year, Shaikh Ahmed told reporters in Dubai on Wednesday on the sidelines of a news conference.
The same growth figure was predicted in February this year when the “Dubai Economic Outlook 2012” was unveiled. Shaikh Ahmed’s answer to reporters showed Dubai is confident to achieve the target.
The available statistics show that tourism had been a key driver of economic growth last year that contributed about 60 per cent to Dubai’s GDP.
Meanwhile, Shaikh Ahmed, who is also President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority, Chairman of Emirates airline and Chief Executive of the Emirates Group, confirmed that the planned alliance with Australia’s Qantas does not relate with revenue, but only with code-sharing.
“The deal is likely within six months. We are not discussing revenue sharing,” he told reporters. “The objective is to eventually see Qantas fly through Dubai,” he said, adding: “We are supporting all airlines to fly through Dubai. We have been talking with a number of airlines.”
Khaleej Times
2 August