Dubai sets record spending target for 2020
December 29, 2019, 1:37 pm

Dubai sets record spending target for 2020

The Dubai government will spend a record 66.4 billion dirhams ($18.08 billion) in 2020 as it looks to boost its economy and support the Expo 2020 event, the emirate said in a statement on Sunday.

Dubai also adopted a three-year budget cycle from 2020 to 2022, with a total expenditure of 196 billion dirhams ($53 billion), the statement said.

The Gulf hub, which is home to the world's tallest skyscraper, Burj Khalifa, expects public revenues to reach 64 billion dirhams ($17.4 billion) in 2020, an increase of 25 percent year-on-year.

“This comes as part of supporting the Dubai Plan 2021 and the Expo 2020 Dubai, as well as moving forward in support of the emirate’s macro economy,” Abdulrahman Saleh Al Saleh, Director General of the Department of finance (DOF) said in a statement.

The figure for 2020 marks an increase over the 56.8 billion dirhams ($15.5 billion) in capital expenditure under the 2019 budget.

The government expects the global trade exhibition to generate billions of dirhams for the United Arab Emirates’ economy as it struggles with sluggish rates of growth amid a real estate slump, which has sent property prices to record lows.

The Expo will be held between October 2020 and April 2021.

Official figures released on Saturday showed that Dubai’s external trade rose 6 percent to 1.02 trillion dirhams ($277.74 billion) in the first nine month of 2019.

Authorities reported that exports rose 23 percent to 118 billion dirhams, re-exports increased 4 percent to 312 billion dirhams, and imports rose 3 percent to 589 billion dirhams.

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”